Our Past, His Future
by notsofullbuster
Summary: [On Hiatus] The future? He had no future, especially in today's world. The emptiness in his eyes killed her every time. She was determined to give him a better life, She had one shot in changing not only his life, but also her own. She was determined to give him a better life, even if that meant going back to the past.
1. Nightime Encounters

**This was just an idea thing I had the other day, I was like 'hey! let's write a Rogue x Kagura fic based in the GMG arc' so here we are. Let's see how this goes. It'll follow most of the plot from the arc, obviously some things will be altered for this story's purpose. Anyways, enjoy!**

* * *

Hiding in the shadows of the ruins what used to be the flower blooming capital of Fiore the woman peeked her head around the door of the abandoned building, making sure the coast was clear before ushering the child inside, slowly pushing the door shut behind herself.

Looking out of the broken window at the night sky, the moon the only thing what seemed to be lighting up the destroyed city. The woman silently prayed that her calculations were correct and that in two days time the lunar eclipse will happen, allowing her to carry out her plan.

Pulling down the hood of her cloak and fixing her blonde hair in the process, the woman let out deep sigh as she surveyed the damaged city what once was filled with life and many memories, now destroyed. The pavement no longer safe to walk on, holes from the dragon's attacks making craters in the concrete along with debris scattered all around. Most of the buildings were eradicated, the one her and the young boy occupied was one of the few somehow still standing, despite the holes in the walls.

Granted it was unsafe to stop in one place for an extended amount of time, especially in Crocus, yet she decided to take her chances and allow the child to rest, as they had been travelling for a few days to the capital.

The woman glanced at the young boy who sat against the wall across from the window, the hood of his cloak now down as he sat in silence, his knees pulled up to his chest as he stared ahead of himself. She felt her shoulders drop at the sight of the blank look the young boy gave off, her face pulling into a frown of concern for him.

For the age of six, he had been through a lot in his short years in this world.

From watching his father turn into sadistic monster with plans to rule the kingdom, abandoning him and his mother. Only to then see his mother die at the hands of his own father, trying to protect her son from the darkness his father brought with him, to watching the people he called family die one by one from the dragon's attacking the kingdom.

His mother asked her to take care of him, one of her few last words before she passed away.

She was one of the few people he called family he had left.

The young boy had seen so much darkness in his life, yet it was inevitable, especially in today's world. She believed he deserved a better life, one where his father wasn't plagued by darkness and his mother was still around to see him grow up, one with both of his parents in the picture. That's why she had come up with a plan, one to save the past and change the future and the young child only influenced her to be more determined to see this through.

A plan to not only change his life, but her own, to finally give them the happiness they could only dream of.

Sighing the woman stepped towards the young boy, bending down to rest on her knees in front of him.

"Ryō..."

He looked up at her, his bright red eyes sparkling from the moonlight shining through the window, tufts of his dark hair covering parts of his face. The white ribbon which once belonged to his mother covered the majority of his forehead peering through the bangs, contrasting against his jet black hair colour.

Whenever she looked at him she saw emptiness in his eyes, nothing but sadness and longing for a family again. For his mother and father to return to him. For this nightmare to be over.

"Yes Lu?" he spoke, his voice quiet.

Placing a gentle hand on top of his head, she shot him a small smile.

"I promise I will do everything in my power to change all of this, no matter what it takes."

* * *

Kagura walked around the town of Crocus, something she always did around this time of a night often finding it an easy way to rid of the day's tension and to erase any thoughts before she went to bed.

Archenemy gripped firmly in her right hand, the one thing what she always carried with her no matter where she went. As a form of protection in case she ran into any problems, yet also there as a form of comfort. It was the only thing she had left in her life which made her feel at ease, shielding her from all the bad things she faced as well as being the one thing she will need when faced with the man who took her brothers life, Jellal Fernandes.

She had heard from Millianna all of the events what had happened at the Tower of Heaven, the once Wizard Saint casting a spell to end her brothers life once and for all.

He took him away from her. Her brother. _Her Simon_.

Her katana had never been unsheathed, the blade secured with tape until the day she crossed paths with her brother's murderer, the blade only meant to be stained with the blood of Jellal, having taught herself to use the weapon to its full potential sheathed using the style of the undrawn long sword technique.

Turning the corner of the street three people standing not too far away, as she walked closer she noticed it was that dragon slayer and from Fairy Tail, along with his exceed and the woman she had the honour in battling earlier that day.

"Those bastards! They're going to pay for what they did to you!" the pink haired dragon slayer shouted before turning around and running off, almost running down Kagura in the process.

"Natsu! Wait up! Sorry about that." the blue cat apologised for his friend before flying off towards the direction the dragon slayer ran off to.

Kagura blinked several times before turning her attention to Yukino, who was wiping her tear stained face. "Are you okay? What was all that about?" she asked.

"Oh, don't worry about it. It's nothing, really." Yukino shrugged her off, averting her gaze to the floor.

The gravity mage glanced at the suitcase what was beside the celestial wizard before looking back at her, her eyebrow raising in suspicion. "It doesn't seem like nothing. Now Yukino, tell me what's-" Kagura was cut off with the sight of the mage bursting into tears, burying her head in her hands.

The dark haired woman was taken aback by her sudden outburst. Unsure of how to handle the situation she lead the crying woman to the bench across the street, wheeling the suitcase behind her.

Taking a seat next to Yukino, Kagura placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Now Yukino, what's wrong?" she questioned again.

"It's...it's all...my fault." the celestial spirit wizard sobbed.

"What is?"

"I lost. I lost my match against you and brought shame to Sabertooth."

Kagura frowned, "Shame? You didn't bring shame to your guild, you fought well." she countered as she handed her a tissue.

Yukino's efforts surprised the Mermaid Heel mage during their match, especially summoning two celestial spirits at once, which no one had ever seen before. Albeit Kagura didn't find it troubling to defeat her, but if any of her other guild mates went up against her they might have found her somewhat troubling, yet she was still impressed with her efforts.

"I didn't, I wasn't strong enough. I made a bet with my life and lost, I'm pathetic. Maybe master Jiemma was right, I am nothing but an embarrassment to Sabertooth." Yukino sniffled, wiping her tears away with the tissue.

The gravity mage couldn't believe what she was seeing, or hearing for that matter. The woman who was once radiated confidence before the battle, now gone, replaced with a fragile woman whose confidence had been shattered by someone's careless words. A woman who was now uncertain with herself, something Kagura didn't like seeing.

This wasn't the Yukino what she saw earlier.

"What happened when you got back to your inn?"

Yukino closed her eyes, letting out a deep sigh before looking down at the pavement.

"Master told me to step forward and strip in front of everyone, then he told me erase my guild mark." she mumbled.

Kagura's eyes widened in shock, "He made you strip in front of your guild? Did no one protest to this?!"

"No."

"Not even your friends?"

"Friends? Friends don't exist in Sabertooth."

The Mermaid's grip on her sword tightened, her anger building over hearing about the mistreatment what had gone on earlier. No one deserves to be berated in such a way, especially in front of a crowd and not having anyone call out this disgusting behaviour? What kind of guild was Sabertooth? What guild made its members do such humiliating things just at the cost of losing a battle in the Grand Magic Games?

"Those bastards..." Kagura fumed through gritted teeth. Standing from the bench she readjusted her grip on Archenemy, set on heading to the Sabertooth inn to avenge the celestial mage, "They have to pay for what they've done to you."

The dark haired woman took a few steps forward before she felt someone grip her hand, pulling her back. Turning her head Yukino was staring up at her, her brown eyes filled with tears.

"Please don't, I don't want to cause you any trouble. Plus I think Natsu has already gone over there..."

Kagura sighed, knowing that she was possibly right. She had heard about that dragon slayers 'fights are the answer to everything' attitude, and knowing him he's probably tore most of the inn Sabertooth were housing in.

"I guess. Do you have a place to say for the night?" Kagura asked.

"No. I was hoping to catch a train out of the city-"

"To where?" Kagura crossed her arms over her chest, raising a brow in question.

Yukino let out a sigh, her hands clasped together in front of her. "I'm not too sure just yet, I guess I'll try and find a new guild.."

The gravity mage sent her a curt nod before grabbing the suitcase and started walking. "Wait, where are you-"

"You can stay with me for tonight, I don't want you waiting around in a train station. Plus you look like you need a good nights sleep." the swordswoman stated, taking note of how bloodshot the celestial wizards eyes were from all of her crying.

"Right, of course. Thank you, Kagura." the white haired mage thanked her, shooting her a small smile of appreciation before trailing behind her.

The two walked towards the inn Mermaid Heel were housed in, a somewhat awkward silence fell between the two mage's.

The gravity mage had to think all of this over in her mind, earlier today she had been fighting Yukino and now here she was helping her after her guild had kicked her out.

 _Inadvertently was it my fault? I was the reason she lost, leading to her getting kicked out of Sabertooth. Am I to blame for her sadness?_

Letting out a sigh Kagura looked back briefly at Yukino, "I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"Getting you kicked out of your guild, it was my-"

Yukino shook her head, "Don't apologise. It wasn't your fault at all, don't put the blame on yourself please. I don't want you to carry that guilt."

Kagura didn't give her a reply, simply continuing her journey to the inn.

"You know, if you ever need a guild...Mermaid Heel always has it's door open."


	2. The Morning After

**Finally managed to get another part written up, hope you guys enjoy it!**

* * *

"Last night was pretty wild, huh?"

Rogue glanced at Sting before looking back at the newly destroyed inn where Sabertooth were staying during the games, the front door hanging off of it's hinges and the windows smashed. It wasn't much different on the inside, glass and rubble still scattered across the lobby, all from the hands of Natsu Dragneel of Fairy Tail.

"You could say that."

Sting was right to say the least, he didn't expect and attack to happen but then again he had heard rumours of the fire dragon slayer and his spontaneous actions before, knowing that it wasn't uncommon. But what surprised Rogue more was the fact that Natsu had challenged the whole Sabertooth guild including master Jiemma to a fight, something what no one in the guild would ever dare do.

He had guts, but he was stupid to think he had a chance against the whole guild when he was all alone.

 _Was this all over the treatment of Yukino?_

Then again, Rogue could agree that what she was made to do was degrading and humiliating, yet it wasn't anything new in this guild. Anyone who messed up was forced to pay the price in any way the master saw fit as a punishment, and all the guild was forced to watch as it happened. But having the Celestial Spirit Mage strip in front of everyone was a new low for Jiemma, something he hadn't made anyone do until last night. The shadow dragon slayer felt sorry for the young woman, but kept quiet as she was made to remove her guild mark and leave immediately.

And even after that she was still thankful towards the master after what he had made her do.

He had questioned the guild's motives, asking his friend if this is how all the other guilds operate only to be told 'only the strong survive here'. Of course Sting would say that. In Sabertooth everyone is here for themselves, and only looking out for themselves. It wouldn't surprise Rogue that if ever anything went wrong on a job with his partner, Sting would throw him under the bus and put the blame on him just to secure his place in the guild.

 _Survival of the fittest, all for one and one for all_.

"I'm sure that if he's smart enough, he won't try that again." Lector commented as he stood beside the blonde dragon slayer.

"Fro thinks so too!" the frog-suit wearing exceed added, perched on Rogue's shoulder.

"Damn straight." Sting smirked, "Now let's get going, the games will be starting soon." he added, the four of them making their way through the city towards Domus Flau.

The twin dragons and their exceeds made their way through the bustling streets of Crocus, the majority of the residents also making their way towards the battle arena ready for today's Grand Magic Games. Most of them paving a way for the two dragon slayers to get through quicker, along with some whispers amongst them about the events of last night, which could easily be heard with the advanced hearing of a dragon slayer.

"It seems news travels fast." Rogue mumbled.

Sting let out a frustrated huff as he halted, a frown setting on his face as his fists tightened. "That asshole. I'll make him pay for embarrassing the Sabertooth name."

"Don't waste your energy on that idiot, Sting. He's not worth it."

"Rogue's right, quit worrying about it. We'll show them why we are the number one guild in all of Fiore, just watch." Lector smirked, agreeing with the shadow dragon slayer as they continued walking, leaving Sting behind a few paces.

The blonde nodded, "You're right Lec- _woah_!" Sting steadied himself on the person who bumped into him, his hands placed on their shoulders to balance himself. Frustration built at the fact that someone had walked into him. Can't people in this city watch where the heck they're walking?! "Hey, watch it!" he shouted, his eyes instantly widening in regret when he noticed that it was a boy who had bumped into him.

Sting blinked several times as he took in the boy's appearance, noting that he looked somewhat familiar. _Do I know this kid from somewhere? No, I possibly couldn't. Then again, Crocus is a big place. I've probably seen him around several times._

Feeling back that he had shouted at the young boy, noting the kids rather scared expression; his red eyes wide as he looked up at Sting with a startled look. The dragon slayer knelt down, now level with the boy as he shot him a small smile. "Sorry about that kid, didn't mean to scare you." he apologised.

The boy simply blinked, staring intently at the Sabertooth mage.

"Are you lost?"

The youngster shook his head, some of his hair falling into his eyes.

Sting raised a brow, "Then where are your-"

"Ryō."

Sting looked behind the kid to see a cloaked figure standing before them, unable to see their face as the hood was pulled up. The boy turned around looking at the figure before turning his gaze back to Sting.

"Ryō, come. We must get going." the person spoke again, their voice gentle. Sting assumed that they were female, possibly the child's mother.

The dragon slayer shot the boy another smile, mussing his hair up before standing back up at full height. "See you around kid."

The child known as Ryō nodded before running off to the hooded person, making their way through the the crowd.

"Sting! There you are, we thought we lost you." Rogue sighed as he approached his friend.

"Oh..." Sting stared blankly at his friend. "Sorry, a kid bumped into me." the blonde shrugged.

Rogue arched a brow before shaking his head, "Come, we must get going."

"Right." Sting nodded, trailing behind his friend. He took one more glance behind him, watching the boy and the other person's figure disappear thought the crowd.

Well, that was weird.

* * *

"Are you sure you're going to be okay here by yourself?" Kagura questioned for what seemed like the hundredth time as she fixed the knot of her tie in the mirror, her eyes briefly glancing back at Yukino who sat on the bed.

"Yes, I'll be fine."

The Mermaid nodded, satisfied with how she looked before making her way over to her bed, picking up Archenemy. "What are you going to do whilst we're gone?"

Yukino shrugged, "I might go explore the city, since most people will be at the arena."

Kagura accepted her answer with a curt nod, a knock at her room door interrupting the two women. "Come in." she spoke.

The door opened, Risley walking in. "Hope I'm not barging in on anything, but we gotta go."

The ace of Mermaid Heel nodded, making her way over to the door only to glance back at Yukino. "If you need anything just call via the communication lacrima."

"I doubt I will, but thank you. It's greatly appreciated." the Celestial Spirit mage shot the dark haired woman a smile. "Good luck in today's games."

Kagura only arched a brow at the White haired woman's supportive words, Risley laughing at her expression. "Luck? Our gal doesn't need luck to win." the shorter gravity mage smirked before walking out of the room, the swordswoman following not long after leaving Yukino alone. "Has she told you what she's going to do now that she's left Sabertooth?" Risley asked as she walked beside Kagura.

The taller woman's void expression hardened, her gloved hand gripping her katana tighter at the mention of that pitiful guild's name. "No, although I have offered her a place in Mermaid Heel." she replied.

Risley nodded, "It'd be nice to have a Celestial mage in our guild, plus she seems like a nice gal."

"She is. Such a shame that guild treated her in such a way."

The two made their way into the lobby of the inn, spotting Millianna, Beth and Araña waiting near the front doors.

"Ready for today?" the thread mage questioned as their two team mates made their way towards them.

"I'm so excited! I can't wait!" Millianna added, bouncing up and down in excitement. "By the way how is Yukino?" she asked.

Kagura rolled her eyes at the younger woman's excitement, only for a small smile to break out on her face. She could always count on Millianna to lighten her mood. "She's fine." the gravity mage replied before the women of Mermaid Heel made their way out of the inn, heading straight for Domus Flau for today's events.

"I wonder what's gonna happen today." Beth wondered out loud as she walked beside her guild mates.

"Who knows. Did you hear about that dragon slayer from Fairy Tail attacking Sabertooth?" Araña questioned.

Kagura kept quiet, knowing exactly what her friend was talking about. So Natsu really did barge into that guild last night after he had left her and Yukino alone. She couldn't exactly believe it, but then again she had heard about his behaviour and love for fights.

Risley's eyes widened in disbelief, "Really? Huh, whoever it was has some guts."

"No kidding, those guys are strong." Beth added.

Kagura scoffed, almost wanting to laugh at Beth's comment. "Strong? If anything that guild is nothing but pathetic." she sneered, the look of disgust returning to her face. Her guild mates halted at her words, their eyes widening at her insulting the current number one guild in Fiore.

"Is it wise to say that?"

Millianna nodded in agreement with Beth's question, "She's right, is it such a good idea to be talking about Sabertooth like that? Who knows, one of their members might overhear you."

The swordswoman only shrugged before continuing on walking, "Good. Maybe then I could humiliate them like the did with Yukino."

* * *

The two of them made their way through the now empty streets of Crocus, the pair eventually stopping when they made their way to the fountain in the centre of the city.

Looking around they noticed the coast was clear, the streets clear of anyone seeing them. Cheering could faintly be heard all the way from the arena the other side of the city. Pulling the hood of the cloak down the woman let out a sigh, "I wish you wouldn't run off like that Ryō, you had me worried.", the blonde shot the youngster a stern look.

"I'm sorry Lu."

The woman's gaze turned soft, a small smile lighting up her face as she placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "It's okay, I'm just glad that you're safe."

Silence fell between the two of them, before Ryō spoke. "Was that St-"

"Yeah, that was him." Lucy replied, cutting off the young boy from speaking the white dragon slayers name.

The raven haired boy nodded, noting that he had just ran into his father's old friend, the one that he killed. He didn't understand why his dad would do such a thing, he thought that friends looked out for one another, protected each other.

He then remembered his father wasn't the same man he used to be, not anymore.

Letting out a sigh at the thought of his father, Ryō sat on the bench next to Lucy, reaching in the front pocket of his shorts to pull out a photograph. It was of him and his parents, before everything had started to fall apart. They looked happy, the two of them with huge smiles on their faces as he was held in between them. From what Lucy told him the photo was taken when he had not long turned one years old, just before his father scummed to the darkness inside his heart.

The photograph was well worn, slightly crumpled and torn at the edges, but it was one of the only few mementos he had left of his parents, as well as his mother's ribbon and his father's magic.

"You were such a happy baby, your parents pride and joy." Lucy spoke as she observed the photograph in his hands.

A small smile tugged at the corner of Ryō's lips, "I just wish.."

"You will see them, again. I promise you-"

The raven haired boy's head snapped up, his ruby eyes widening as he stared ahead of himself. It was almost like he could feel a certain pressure, a familiar one as well as another three he was all too familiar with.

Lucy blinked at the sudden actions of the child, "Ryō, what's wro-"

"Dad...?" he muttered under his breath before standing from his seat and running away, straight for the Domus Flau.

"Ryō? Ryō! Stop!" Lucy ran after him, only to lose him after he faded into the shadows. She stopped running, catching her breath as she looked towards the battle arena, knowing that he was possibly heading towards there. Lucy knew the reason why he was heading there, she could feel the presence too. A great amount magic energy was radiating from the arena, her memory hazy as she thought of all the reasons he would run off like that.

And then she remembered, the battle between Fairy Tail and Sabertooth; the four dragons.


	3. Fairy Tail vs Sabertooth

**Finally! We're here with another chapter of 'Our Past, His Future'. I want to thank you all for the support on this story, I didn't expect many people to be interested in this kind of storyline whatsoever. But I'm thankful that you're all supporting this! Onward to the chapter!**

* * *

"My head hurts." Millianna whined, rubbing the top of her head as she trailed behind Kagura.

"You'll be fine, we're nearly at the infirmary. I'm sure they can give you something." the woman in front spoke, her voice stern as she continued on.

The brunette flinched at the harshness in the gravity mage's voice. "I'm sorry we didn't win, Kagura." Millianna mumbled, gripping her arm, eyes casting downward.

They had just finished their two on two battle against Lyon Vastia and Yuka Suzuki from Lamia Scale. The battle had started with Millianna taking the two mage's on by her own, Kagura standing by on the side in case the brunette needed assistance. It had been going well, until Lyon used an ice make mouse to distract Millianna as she ended up going head first into the brick wall, which left Kagura to take the two men on her own.

It wasn't much of a big deal, Yuka was easily taken care of leaving the ice wizard, Lyon. The two went back and forth, before the battle was announced as a draw. A few more seconds and Kagura would have sent the white haired male flying to the ground, solidifying her win.

It wasn't the fact that they hadn't won, Millianna just wanted to prove her her comrade that their training together had paid off, that she had gotten stronger, yet she had failed. Distracted by a stupid plan.

 _If this wasn't an organised fight, you would be dead_.

Kagura's words rung through her mind repeatedly, knowing full well that she was right. If this had been taking down dark guild, she wouldn't even be alive right now.

"Don't worry yourself over it Millianna, it's over and done with now." Kagura spoke again, the harshness in her tone softened as she looked over her shoulder to her friend. "I'm just glad you weren't injured any further. But I am proud of you for holding your own out there for as long as you did, Lyon is a formidable opponent." she added, praising the woman of her hard fought feat.

"Thanks, Kagura!"

The two stopped at the door to the infirmary, Kagura reaching to open the door when she heard two voices coming from down the hallway.

The Twin Dragon's of Sabertooth.

The Mermaid's face hardened into a frown, she could feel her anger flaring up, her grip on Archenemy's handle tightening as she watched the two pass them by. They can't get away with what they've done, or lack of what they didn't do. Not after what that guild had done to Yukino, they deserved worse then what Natsu did last night.

"Go in, I'll be there in a moment."

Millianna looked between Kagura and the two men who had walked by, her eyes widening as she caught on to what her friend was about to do. "Kagura, no-"

" _Go_ , Millianna." Kagura spoke, the stern tone in her voice returning forcing the binding magic mage to enter the infirmary without her. Taking a deep breath she walked, her pace fast as she caught up with the two dragon slayers. "Sabertooth. Sting and Rogue, right?" she questioned causing the two men to halt, turning around to face her.

The blonde scowled at the sight of her as the raven haired slayer stared at her, his expression indifferent. "What do you want? We have a match to get to." the one dressed in blue sleeveless jacket questioned.

Kagura raised a brow at the slight hostility in his voice, "Apologies for interrupting you," she replied with sarcasm causing the blonde's scowl to deepen. "But I thought I'd just let you know that you got lucky last night with Natsu showing up to your guild. If that was me, I wouldn't have held back. Not after hearing what your guild master had her do."

A look of confusion washed on Sting's face until it changed, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Her? Is this about that weak celestial wizard?" he asked, before letting out a chuckle. "Look here lady, what goes on in our guild is strictly between our guild."

"I couldn't care less about your guild ethics, we're talking about the mistreatment of a comrade and none of you did anything to prevent it."

"Comrade? You hear that Rogue, she thinks Sabertooth is based off of friendship." Sting cackled, glancing at Rogue, who's expression was still void, before looking back at the gravity mage. Stepping towards the woman he looked down on her, attempting to intimidate her to back down from continuing this conversation, his eyes widening slightly as he realised she wasn't backing down, levelling his gaze.

Rogue stood silent as he watched the two, deciding to stay out of it, knowing full well she had every right to be questioning the Sabertooth guild's ethics. They wasn't a guild based off of friendship and family, they were a guild who thrived of power and having their name spread worldwide because of said power.

Calling it a guild didn't even feel right to the dragon slayer, not after seeing how Fairy Tail and all the other guilds in the game are.

He could see the unwavering loyalty within each guild, the compassion, the friendship. How the guild masters cheered them on, instead his own guild master would punish you if you lost the match.

The Grand Magic Games were suppose to be a fun competition between guilds to see who the best guild in Fiore is, yet Jiemma saw it as a test to see who remains in Sabertooth and who goes.

"Sting..." Rogue muttered under his breath, warning his fellow dragon slayer not to push this any further, knowing that he would hear him despite having to raise his voice.

The blonde however ignored his friends warning, instead placing his palm on the wall and lowering himself to see the gravity mage eye to eye, almost patronisingly, the smirk still evident on his lips. "Sabertooth doesn't care about friendship. That's the reason why were the number one guild in all of Fiore." he spoke lowly, other hand reaching up to play with the bow of her ribbon, only for her to catch his hand in a tight grip.

"If you want your hand, then I suggest you keep your hands off of me." Kagura spoke in a clear, but lethal tone, one which Rogue picked up on, knowing that this situation could escalate if Sting provoked her any further.

"Feisty little thing, aren't ya?"

"You have no idea what I'm capable of."

"Sting." Rogue warned, his voice echoing throughout the brick halls of Domus Flau.

The blonde rolled his eyes, shaking his wrist from the swordswoman's grip as he stood up straight. "I'm gonna say this once and I'm gonna say it again, stay out of our business."

"Is that a threat?" Kagura questioned, an eyebrow raising.

"I think you're smart enough to know, lady." the blonde scoffed before walking away, "C'mon Rogue, we got a match to win unlike this loser."

Rogue stood there, his eyes cast downwards as he stared at the concrete floor. His own thoughts clouding his mind, the voice of his dragon parent, Skiadrum echoing throughout.

 _Is this what I taught you to be like, my boy? I'm disappointed in not only you, but Weisslogia's son. We thought better of the two of you_. _We raised you better than that._

He felt ashamed, ashamed to be apart of a guild what has no honour. Lifting his head he glanced at Kagura, "I apologies for Sting, he can be rude and brash. You didn't deserve that."

Kagura was taken aback by the dragon slayers apology, her hazel eyes widening before letting out a sigh. "You have no need to be covering for another persons actions. It wasn't you." she replied, her voice taking on a more softer tone to the one she was speaking in earlier with the other slayer.

"But still. I would also like to extend my apology towards what Sabertooth to Yukino. It was degrading. No one should ever be made to do what she did. Please, let her know I'm sorry, I deeply regret not doing anything to stop it."

The Mermaid's head tilted to the side as she observed the dragon slayer. He wasn't like the rest of his pitiful guild, he seemed to actually care for his comrades. He understood right from wrong. Maybe there was an ounce of light within that guild's darkness, and it came from the shadow dragon slayer.

Rogue excused himself before setting off, only to hear his name called out by her. He turned around, seeing a rather perplexed expression on her face.

"I don't understand... I don't understand why you're in such a guild. You're different from the rest of them. Why stick around. There are plenty of guilds what actually care for their friends."

Why stick around? He didn't even know the answer to that himself. He didn't care about the prestige the name Sabertooth came with. If anything he was there to give himself and Frosch a place to call home, to look out for Sting and Lector. He couldn't think about leaving them for a minute.

 _But what if you did? Imagine how free you would feel. No more Jiemma baring down on you, no more watching people you considered friends being beaten up, kicked out. Maybe join a new guild, one what actually cares._

Maybe one day, he could free himself from the Sabetooth name.

"Honestly, I don't understand either." he replied before turning on his heel and walking off, leaving Kagura alone and even more confused.

* * *

Eyes wide and set on the scene before him, Ryō watched his own father fight alongside two men he saw as father figures when his went rogue, quite literally.

The four dragons going head to head in a tag team match, Fairy Tail verses Sabertooth. Ryō had just managed to make it there in time to see his father activate Shadow Drive, Sting respectively activating White Drive.

Feeling someone stand behind him, he glanced up to see Lucy, her hand placed on his shoulder as she stared towards the arenas battlefield. A stray tear flowing down the side of her face at the sight of the four men fighting. Ryō was confused as to why she had shed a tear, always believing that she has been there to see this battle. He was about to question her on it until she spoke.

"Ryō look." she gestured with her left hand.

The boys attention moved to the fight, the feeling of excitement and awe of being able to see the man who passed his magic down to him hone his skills, the shadow dragon slayer's body becoming engulfed with shadows before attacking Gajeel. The iron dragon slayer tried to get the upper hand but his opponent was intangible, his iron sword cutting right through the shadows like it was nothing, only to be elbowed in the face sending him staggering.

"This is insane, it's like they've amplified their power!" the boy heard someone in the crowd say, and he silently agreed. The two dragons of Sabertooth had become more powerful, the spells seeming to have boosted their physical strength, speed and endurance.

The Twin Dragon's tag teamed Natsu and Gajeel, throwing a series of punches, sending them crashing into one another with a kick to the gut before levelling them both with a punch. It was undeniable, their team work was unlike anything he had ever saw, he had heard stories from the two opponents about the grace and synchronisation about their attacks and finally he was able to see it with his own eyes.

"C'mon dad." Ryō mumbled under his breath, cheering his dad on.

Over by where Team Mermaid Heel sat, Risley and Araña observed the hyped up match between the four dragon slayers, Kagura standing in the shade seeming uninterested by the match.

"This is crazy, do you see how fast those punches are flying!" Risley commented.

"Mhmm, I must say dragon slayers are quite the sight to behold." Araña added as she looked on before glancing over her shoulder towards the swordswoman, "Kagura don't you want to see this?"

"Not interested."

The two women exchanged glances before turning their attention back to the fight, Fairy Tail's dragons dominating Sabertooth's own with attacks of their own. The whole crowd was in awe at the comeback of the two dragon slayers, knocking the Twin Dragon's back blow for blow, the two men unable to block their attacks.

You could feel the magic energy surging through out the whole arena, the dragon slayer's power was uncanny and unrivalled. No one in the crowd had seen a match up so intense. There was no doubt about it, this was a once in a lifetime match between Sabertooth and Fairy Tail.

"Wait... what is he-" before Risley could even finish her sentence a blinding white light filled the battlefield before they heard something give way with an explosive bang. The whole arena rumbled with aftershocks from the attack, the air filled with dust and debris.

"What happened?" Kagura asked, voice muffled due as she covered her mouth with one hand and she waved the other around in front of herself, trying to clear the air around her as she made her way over to the balcony, trying to see through the thick cloud down to where the fight was.

"I have no idea, the two dragons from Sabertooth entered dragon force and before we knew it... this." Risley gestured.

Minutes passed before the dust settled, gasps coming from the crowd as the floor of the arena was now missing, all four dragon slayers no where in sight.

Kagura's eyes widened in shock, "What in the world was that attack..."

Ryō coughed, eyes widening as he scanned the floor for any sight of the dragon slayers. "W-where are they?!" panic evident in his voice as he turned towards Lucy.

The woman could only shake her head in disbelief, a lock of her hair falling from her hood as she looked at the now destroyed floor of the Domus Flau. The announcer apologised, saying they will locate the four dragons immediately via video lacrima.

Ryō turned around, wrapping his arms around the woman in a hug, her hand resting on the top of his head, almost trying to console the child.

"Dad... Please be okay."


	4. The Battle Continues

**Praise Mavis! Finally, an update! It's been like two months! Sorry for such a long wait. Also, I swear the next chapter will be the end of the battle between Sabertooth and Fairy Tail, but it's just so drawn out. But it's worth it because Ryō's reactions are super cute. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Rogue dusted debris off of his shoulder as he sat down in the underground tunnels of the Domus Flau. "Could have warned me he was going to do that." he huffed, annoyed that Sting gave him no warning that attack was coming.

When the floor caved in from Sting's holy breath attack, he faded himself into the shadows, before moving to safety. Fists tightening and nails biting into the palms of his hands as he heard the fight continue, Sting soloing the match by himself.

Once again Sting's overconfidence had outshone him, leaving him in the shadows. Sting knew that Rogue had every intention of fighting Gajeel on his own, to show his true power and his friend had undermined him.

He fount it ironic, especially with him being a shadow dragon slayer however part of him felt inferior towards his friend.

Rogue was always the one in the shadows, Sting staying in the light. They were both feared equally, but part of him felt they weren't on the same level when people spoke about them. Granted, Rogue wasn't really one for publicity, Sting thrived in it, but it seemed like most people forgot about him when Sting was around. He had always blended in with the shadows, not only alongside Sting, but also within Sabertooth. Idly standing by watching, just like he did when Yukino got was forced to strip and then kicked out of the guild.

He still felt the guilt for allowing the mistreatment of a guild mate to happen right in front of him, angry at himself for being to afraid to stand up against Jiemma. He felt guilty for the way his guild mates treated other guild's, laughing and throwing insults at them. The way Minerva went overboard with her attack on the celestial wizard from Fairy Tail during the Naval battle. He had overheard that she might not be competing for the rest of the tournament. He hated how his guild laughed at the torture Minerva put her through. He especially hated the way Sting spoke to Mermaid Heel's Kagura Mikazuchi, the way he tried intimidate her, granted it didn't work at all, Rogue still felt the need to apologies for his guild mate's actions.

 _"You're different from the rest of them. Why stick around?"_ the swordswoman's words had stuck with him ever since the two spoke. But in reality, Rogue didn't feel he was any different from the other members of Sabertooth. If anything, he was just as bad.

"Guess I'm always going to be in the shadows." Rogue chuckled lowly to himself.

"Tired of being second best? I could change that for you." an ominous voice spoke.

The dragon slayer looked around, however no one could be seen. "Who's there?" His voice echoed through the tunnel, yet he got no reply. Where even was the voice coming from? No one else was around, except for Sting and the two mage's from Fairy Tail but they were far away. He was alone.

The voice cackled, ignoring Rogue's question. "But the question is, are you ready for your true power...?"

Rogue glanced over his shoulder, yet still no one. The voice sounded right by his ear, clear to his hearing. Almost like they were right beside him. Was I just hearing things? He ran a hand through his hair before turning away, starting to walk.

"Hmm. Not yet, I don't think you're ready."

Rogue swiftly turned around, yet still finding no one. He shifted on his feet, taking one last glance around for anybody before walking.

Whatever or whoever that was, it made him feel uneasy.

* * *

Whispers could be heard amongst the crowd as video lacrima's tried to find the dragon slayers, who had now disappeared after the floor have given way after Sting's attack. No one could believe the power of destruction only one of them bought, this tag team match was on another level compared to previous ones.

Then again, it was to be expected from mages who possessed the _magic of dragons_.

Ryō gripped Lucy's cloak tight in his fist, eyes widening as tears starting to pool. He stared down at the now missing arena floor, looking for any sight of the shadow dragon slayer. He tried searching for his scent, yet dust still floating around made his nose irritable, making it unable to trace his father.

Lucy's hand smoothed through his hair, attempting to soothe the child. "It's okay, Ryō. They'll be okay." She spoke, glancing down at the young boy, shooting him a small smile. A tear escaped his eye, Lucy's thumb wiping it away instantly.

Blasts and voices could be heard echoing all the way down, prompting everyone to believe that the four men were okay, and still fighting. It wasn't long until the video lacrima's finally caught up with the dragon slayers, Sting still taking on Natsu and Gajeel by himself, easily matching the two dragon slayers blow by blow. However there was one missing, the shadow dragon slayer.

"Where is he?!" Ryō shouted, looking at the screen. He couldn't feel his father's presence, and it scared him. He wanted to go and find him, check that he was okay. But he couldn't, not here, not in front of all of these people to witness via lacrima.

Lucy held the child tightly against her, trying her best to console him. She felt him shake under her touch, the sound of him trying to stifle his sobs before he buried his head in the fabric of her dark cloak.

"Dad..."

The blonde woman smiled, the sight of the young boy's concern for his father touched her heart. That despite Rogue's actions in the future, Ryō still saw the man as his father, cheering him on in battle. She knew he had always idolised his father, but thought that had disappeared due to what had happened, yet the candle he held for his father still burned as bright as ever.

Over the other side of the arena a prominent frown was etched on the face of Kagura Mikazuchi, who was staring intensely at the screens provided to watch the match. She had also noticed the disappearance of the shadow dragon slayer.

"You okay there, girl? You look like you're trying to destroy the screens with your mind." Risley joked, but was also intrigued by Kagura's sudden interest in the match.

"Where is he..." she mumbled, ignoring her team mates question.

"Who?"

Kagura's head turned to Beth, her eyes widening slightly at being caught out.

"You on about the other dragon slayer from Sabertooth? Rogue, is it?" Araña questioned, glancing at Beth who shrugged her shoulders before looking back at Kagura.

Risley smirked, "Got a little soft spot for the shadow dragon, ay Kagura?" she quipped, nudging the swordswoman who's cheeks flushed a light shade of pink.

"Kagura has a thing for Rogue?!" Millianna exclaimed, gaining the attention of everyone who sat around the balcony where Mermaid Heel were seated.

The ace of Mermaid Heel wished a black hole would just suck her in, she could already hear the whispers throughout the crowd, and already had no doubts that what had been said would make its way to that over-eccentric reporter from Sorcerer Weekly. "Don't speak such nonsense! He's supposed to be helping his team mate-" Kagura gritted out, only to pause mid-way when Rogue appeared.

A small smile tugged at her lips only for it to disappear when she saw the look Risley was giving her. She scoffed before turning her back and walked away from the balcony's edge.

"Change is inevitable, and there's the proof. The old generation battered and beaten at the hands of true dragon slayers. Their era was grand but now it's come to an end." he spoke as he observed Gajeel and Natsu laid out on the floor, all at the hands of Sting.

The familiar voice rang through Ryō's ears, his head lifting to look at the screen. "Lu! Lu! Lu, look! He's back! He's back!" the raven haired boy jumped up and down with excitement.

"I told you he'd be okay." Lucy laughed, mussing up Ryō's hair.

* * *

"When you attack you pivot your foot to eleven o'clock."

"Nope, it's ten o'clock you dumbass!" Gajeel retorted back at Natsu.

"It's totally eleven!"

"Are _you_ blind?! It was ten thirty at most. Were you even watching him?!"

Sting and Rogue stared at their opponents, dumbfounded that the two were having an argument during the match. They glanced at one another before looking back at Fairy Tail's dragon slayers, wondering if they should break it up or just see where it lead.

The two butted heads, glaring at one another. "I think you were hit too hard. It was twenty three o'clock." the fire dragon slayer growled.

"THAT'S THE SAME DAMN THING!"

"Should we...?" Sting questioned.

"I'd rather not."

This petty argument was over Sting and his stance when he attacked. The end result leaded to Gajeel being thrown into a mining cart and sent on a ride, triggering his motion sickness.

"What the hell was that for?!" Sting exclaimed, confused over Natsu's actions.

"Betrayal?" Rogue questioned.

Natsu grinned at the Twin Dragon's, "You think I forgot about your insults from before? I can handle you both myself." Fire engulfed both of his fists as he got into his fighting stance, "C'mon, let's see what you got!"

Sting's eyes widened, "You're making a big mistake if you think you can handle the two of us. Did you forget? We have complete control over our dragon force!" he responded only to get a shrug of the shoulders in response.

Rogue's eyes moved over to where Gajeel had fallen down to before glancing back at Natsu. "My interest isn't with you at all. I'm here to fight Gajeel, and that is all." He needed this. He needed to prove to himself that he had gotten strong, and the only way he could do that is if he defeated the man he idolised growing up.

"Defeat me and you can fight whoever you want."

Their eyes widened, the magic energy surging as they activated dragon force in unison. This was it, all or nothing.

"Are you all fired up?"


	5. The Mighty Fall

**I'm so excited to update this, I have up to chapter nine planned out.** **Would have had this up earlier, but Naruto has consumed my entire Summer (Sasuke, Hinata, Kakashi and Kiba are my faves, if you were wondering) hence my lack of updates. But here we are!** **My hype is real for this story, so expect this to be updated possibly weekly if I can get it written up fast enough.**

 **I hope you guys are as excited as I am. Who do you think Ryō will run into first? Who else besides Rogue and Kagura could he run into? Sting already has seen him. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy the chapter. Thanks for all the support so far, it's appreciated!**

* * *

The flames of the fire dragon broke through, deeming stronger of the two as it threw Sting back, causing him to go crashing into the wall. The blonde groaning as his back impacted with the concrete of the underground. How..? It had seemed as if he had gotten stronger. _But how?_ Sting wondered, marvelling at Natsu's sudden burst of power.

"Huh, is that so? Then I should use the same kind of power that I use to fight for my friends you laughed at!"

 _No one simply gained power by friendship, it was impossible._

"Shadow dragon roar!" the burst of tangible black and gray shadows caught the Fairy Tail wizard off guard, quickly pivoting on his feet to counter with his own dragon roar. Flames met shadows at a stalemate between the two men, before the flames engulfed the raven haired dragon slayers roar, turning the attack into nothing. However the flame roar kept travelling towards it's target, blasting Rogue backwards.

Sting looked on as dust settled where his team mate was, eyes wide as his frustration built. "I'm not done with you!" he growled, charging towards Natsu.

The Twin Dragon's charged at the Fairy Tail mage, their tenacity was relentless, always finding ways to come back again and again, counter for counter. However, Natsu was having a hard time holding the two at bay, yet still managed to fight both of them off, despite being outnumbered. Eventually it drew to a stalemate, all three of them breathing heavily, the match seeming to drag on minute by minute.

Each one of them knew that there wasn't much time left, only having thirty minutes to score the win over the other team. They were well into twenty minutes, if not edging towards the time limit.

Rogue glanced at Sting, the blonde recognising the look his team mate was giving him, and with a nod he solidified their final plan.

"Now Sting!" Rogue roared out, hand tightening to a fist as he focused his magic energy, a dark aura flaring. Letting out a battle cry of his own, Sting did the same thing, however his aura glowed a pure white with hints of gray, which contrasted against Rogue's. His was of a midnight blue, with a purple tinge and a lighter blue centre. It started off as a small orb like shape, yet got larger and larger as seconds progressed.

Tremors racked through the arena, the magic pressure as tense. The light and dark auras expanded further and further, yet not mixing with one another.

Teeth bared and with a look of determination, the Twin Dragons of Sabertooth focused all they had, their signature move, one which would solidify their victory.

There was _no way_ they were losing to Fairy Tail, not now, _not ever_.

"This looks bad." Beth commented, a weary look on her face as she stared at the screens enticed by the match, just like everyone else in the Domus Flau.

Risley hummed in agreement, "I don't understand why he's just standing there." she added, eyebrow raised as a questioning look settled on her face at the fire dragon slayer stood there, doing nothing but watching the other two.

"What are they doing?" Millianna questioned.

"Unison raid. In other words, they're fusing their magic together for one complete attack."

The feline-like woman glanced at the Mermaid Heel ace, "Unison raid? But...but if that hits then..." Millianna's eyes widened at the thought of the attack hitting the lone dragon slayer. She knew that individually the Twin Dragon's were strong, but if they came together to make one attack... It was knock Natsu out, for sure.

A small frown appeared on Kagura's face, knowing that what ever Millianna was assuming, was right. If Natsu didn't counter or dodge right now, he was going to lose the match, giving Sabertooth the win. She couldn't bear to see that sight, them gloating over their win, looking down on everyone as they claimed themselves superior to everyone else.

Refraining from rolling her eyes the swords-woman glanced over to where team Sabertooth were seated, spotting the Dragon Slayers exceed's perched on the edge of the balcony, a look of fear on their faces over the men battling it out underground. "You can do it, Sting!" the red-furred exceed cheered, tears streaming down his face.

"I'm cheering for you, too!" the pink frog-suit wearing one added.

The pressure suddenly disappeared, the aura's the dragon slayers were producing vanished as the whole arena went quiet.

Two small spherical balls appeared, similar to the aura the Twin Dragon's gave off in their palms, light and dark mixing as it turned into one lone sphere.

"Natsu! Outta the way!" Happy shouted, fearing Natsu wouldn't move out of the way quick enough.

Ryō's eyes widened in awe at what was transpiring. _A 'unison raid'?_ He knew his father was powerful, but to be able to pull off fusion magic? His father had told him stories and how that him and his uncle- _Sting_ , pulled off this type of magic. He always wanted to see it, and now he was able to.

"Holy Shadow Dragon Flash Fang!" the Twin dragon's roared out in unison, sending a mixture of light and darkness hurdling towards Natsu at lightning speed.

The Fairy Tail Mage blinked before getting into his fighting stance. "Dragon Slayer Secret Art," Flames in the shape of a Phoenix formed. The counter attack was quickly executed, if you blinked you would have missed it. "Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade!"

The flames nullified the cloud of light and dark, engulfing the two Sabertooth mage's in flames. The attack so strong that it blew through the underground, sending tremors all throughout the arena.

The screens went blank as the blast had caused the video lacrima's to malfunction. The announcer stating that they would be up and running against shortly as whispered could be heard throughout the crowd.

Ryō glanced up at Lucy who shot him a small reassuring smile, "They're okay, I'm sure of it. They're dragon slayers, remember?" The boy could only nod as he turned his attention back to the crater in the arena floor. He couldn't sense no magic energy, not his father's, nor Sting or Natsu's.

Lucy had to blink several times, adjusting the hood of her cloak with her left hand. _I hope they're okay_ , she let out a sigh. This whole match had been a roller coaster for her, as this was the first time she was seeing this for herself. She recalled being in the infirmary when Natsu and Gajeel were called for their match against Sting and Rogue, her team mate coming to see her beforehand. She recalled how excited he was to be able to fight, knowing Natsu was itching to get his hands on the Twin Dragon's.

They had disrespected Fairy Tail too much, and the injuries she sustained during the Naval Battle had pushed the dragon slayer over the edge, he was ready for a war, if that's what it meant.

 _Nobody disrespects my friends and gets away with it._

The screens flickered, the video lacrima's finally starting up again to show the underground where the dragon slayers were fighting. The dust settled, the three men coming into view. They all looked worse for wear, wounds bleeding and torn up clothes.

Rogue stumbled back, trying his best to keep his weight up. But he couldn't, he knew he couldn't. This was a lost battle. He let out a groan, his whole body aching from the intensity of the fight. Lifting his head up slowly, he glanced at Natsu. Even though he looked worse for wear, his stance was strong. _Does this man's power know no bounds?_ Legs finally giving way, Rogue let his whole body fall forward. At the same time, Sting dropped down onto his knees. Both of them fell down, bodies slumping to the floor.

That was it, they were done.

The bell rang as cheers rang throughout the crowd, Fairy Tail claiming victory of the battle of the dragon slayers.

A small smile tugged at Kagura's lips as she watched Natsu celebrate. He had done it, he had defeated Sabertooth. She somewhat got satisfaction from it, knowing that the loss would wound the blonde's — _What was his name again? Oh yeah, Sting Eucliffe_.— ego. Good, he needed it.

"What a match!" Beth spoke, somewhat in awe of the battle between the four— well, _three_ men.

They all agreed, the battle amongst dragon slayers was one to remember.

Lucy noticed the slouch in his shoulders as the young boy stared at the screen, she knew that he was upset his dad had lost.

"Ryō-"

"He did his best," Ryō cut her off, "He did his best... right, Lu?" he questioned, his ruby coloured eyes glancing up at the blonde.

She smiled in return, her hand mussing up his hair. "He did, he gave it his all. Like always."

Glancing back at the screen, Ryō let out a small laugh at Natsu's celebration. The dragon slayer was currently breathing fire in the air and dancing around. He was happy uncle Natsu had claimed victory. But to him victories didn't matter, because deep down he knew. He knew that even though in his present time, even though his father has been plagued by darkness, that he would always believe his father to be the best wizard ever.

And _no one_ could tell him any different.

* * *

Glancing at the screen, Yukino marvelled at the sight of her ex-guild members being defeated by Natsu Dragneel. A smile appeared at his victory dance, a small giggle passing her lips at his antics. Walking towards the window she stared towards the Domus Flau, her mind going deep in thought.

She had heard earlier in the morning whilst walking through the city that somebody had stormed the inn Sabertooth were housing in, causing a ruckus. It brought a smile to her face, knowing it could have been only one of two people. Natsu or Kagura. Part of her leaned towards it being Natsu, knowing that he was quick to throw himself into things of the sort. Plus, he took of running in that direction when he left her that night.

Yukino made a mental note to thank him personally. Her mind then drifted towards the woman who had beaten her on the third day of the Grand Magic Games, Kagura Mikazuchi.

She had left Kagura and her team mates at Mermaid Heel, thanking them for their hospitality and kindness towards her, eventually leaving them after spending a night at their inn. She had only time to write some form of note, thanking the woman before having to grab her luggage. Yukino assumed that they would think she had left Crocus, which she did intentionally think of doing. She would also have to thank them in person sometime in the near future.

"Sargent Aguria."

Yukino saluted as the man approached her. He was the one who convinced her to stay in Crocus, as she was needed for a plan.

Arcadios gave her a nod as he stopped in front of her. "Are you settling in fine?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you. I would also like to thank you for this opportunity. I am appreciative that you chose me to help." Yukino replied.

"Are you sure you're about joining this project and seeing it come to fruition?"

"Yes. I am certain about helping with the Eclipse plan."

* * *

"He really kicked our ass, didn't he?"

Rogue let out an amused _'hmph'_ in reply, glancing at Sting with a small smirk.

They had been attended to by medics, wounds cleaned up and bandaged or patched up. The Twin Dragon's sitting in an empty room in the infirmary wing, their respective exceed's besides them, sleeping. Seems the match had taken a lot out of them too, Rogue mused.

His whole body was aching with exhaustion. Yet, for the first time in awhile, he felt alive. That match had really —as Natsu would say— fired him up. He could tell Sting felt the same way, despite his current state the blonde had a smile on his face.

Sabertooth had lost. Fairy Tail coming up victorious in the battle of the dragon slayers. He had given it his all, they both had, yet it still couldn't compare to the power Fairy Tail had. Rogue noted that Sabertooth lacked something what Fairy Tail had a lot of.

 _Camaraderie._

He could hear their cheers of encouragement through the crowd, their pleas to keep pushing through no matter how hard the battle got. And Sabertooth? Apart from the cries of Lector and Frosch, they had nothing. No encouragement. Nothing of that kind from his guild mates. _"There are plenty of guilds what actually care for their friends."_ Kagura's words echoed in his mind yet again. Rogue shook his head slightly, trying to get rid of the sound of her voice. He hated how her words continued to haunt him, yet there was truth to her words, and he had seen the proof to back it up today.

Fairy Tail had proved to Rogue that they were the better guild.

"Not gonna lie, it was pretty amazing to fight against the two of them." Well, mainly Natsu. "Probably the best fight I've ever had." Sting spoke, voice quiet amongst the silence between the two. He glanced at Rogue, seeing him nod in agreement.

"Same."

Sting smiled at his friends passive expression, yet knowing deep down he felt the same way. He wasn't lying, it was the best fight he had ever competed in ever since they had started the Grand Magic Games. No other opponent had been tougher than their idols, Gajeel and Natsu. Their expectations had been fulfilled, if not exceeded.

He heard Rogue let out a grunt, his eyes glanced over towards his friend. "What's wrong?" Sting questioned.

"Jiemma."

That statement alone had that adrenaline rush instantly disappear from his body, the blonde hanging his head. He wasn't going to be happy with their loss. Sting knew he and Rogue had hyped themselves up to be the very best, the true definition of dragon slayers and that they were on top of their game. They had proved that today, but Natsu was just that bit better than both of them.

But that wasn't going to be enough, both of them knowing as soon as they got back to the inn there would be repercussions.

* * *

"Tch, he is such an asshole." Gajeel grumbled to himself as he walked aimlessly through the underground. He had ended up further down after his impromptu roller coaster ride, curtesy of Natsu _fucking_ Dragneel. "Just wait until I see him..."

He still had no idea if the flame brain had won the match or not, knowing his stupid brain he probably blew it and got too cocky. Then again, cocky Natsu always seemed to somehow pull through. Maybe he did win, showing them asshole's from Sabertooth just who they were messing with. It was one thing to insult Gajeel, but to insult the Fairy Tail guild. Insult him, you might get some brash words and perhaps a punch or two, but to disrespect the guild that took him in... he wasn't going to let anyone ever get away with that.

That's what the Saber-assholes had done. He had heard about Natsu's run in with the two dragon slayers the night before the Games had started, and about them throwing that Celestial Wizard out of the guild because she lost the match. The brutal attack on Lucy had pushed it for not only Natsu, but Gajeel too.

They needed to be put in their place, and he would happily do it. However, fate and a being called Natsu Dragneel had other ideas, hence him being stuck down Mavis-knows where.

That and that dark haired asshole from Sabertooth had torn his headband with a punch. A measly punch. He had to hand it to the guy, he was pretty fast. But... the headband. Fucker, that was my favourite one too! He was gonna make sure he beat some money out of that punk, he is going to pay for a new headband.

"Fucker. Ruining my fucking headband the fucking fuck. I'll..." Gajeel halted, eyes widening. He blinked trying to be sure that what he was seeing was real. No, it couldn't be. He blinked again, shaking his head slightly, yet the vision never changed.

Bones. That of a large structure. Ones he knew could belong to a creature so large. They were scattered all around the area, too many for him to count. But why were they here, under the Domus Flau? How did they get here? Just how many were there exactly?

He had stumbled upon a Dragon graveyard.


	6. Familiar Faces

**Here we are with another chapter, took me longer than I wanted to spend on it. But we're finally here. I've also decided to try something and reply to your comments, the replies will be down below after the chapter ends. I thought it would be good interaction, I guess? But your comments are always appreciated. If you guys ever wanna ask questions about this story then go ahead, you can either ask here or over at my Tumblr (it's notsofullbuster by the way). Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy!**

* * *

"Did you see how cool that move was..." Ryō rambled on aimlessly, like he had done hours later after the epic showdown of the dragon slayers. He was still riding on that high, the kind of high you got after you'd seen your favourite performer live. It was a high which pumped you full of energy, a buzzing excitement which never simmered down until hours later. The type of high what would keep you awake all night, only to let you penultimately crash in the post-show sadness.

Lucy knew it was only a matter of time before the sadness made it's way back to the young boy. His stoic face what reminded her so much of the shadow dragon slayer, yet underneath she knew he was hurting. He never expressed it, yet Lucy knew that within time it would become too much for him, and he'd end up exploding. Slowly, day by day, that sorrow would turn into hatred.

That this hatred would consume him, misguiding him along the path of life. That he would end up just like his father; destructive, heartless, merciless, unfeeling. Lucy refused to let him turn out that way, she won't allow him fall down that path. She had made his mother a promise —something they had done before she had died, a pact of sorts if anything was to ever happen to her— that she would do everything in her power to keep Ryō from turning into the monster his father had become.

Hence her plan, the plan to change the course of the future before it headed down the dark world that she had already lived in. It was no place for a child, he didn't deserve this way of life what had been given to him. Sure, he was alive but he wasn't living. He was just merely existing, just like herself. Lucy knew that Ryō was only alive because of his father's plans, that the man only wanted his son for his magic power. The boy was an heir, a heir to a world what had taken his mothers life, along with everyone he held near and dear to him. Lucy also knew it was only a matter of time until he showed up, knowing that he was lurking in the darkness. He wanted his son back, and he'd wait until the perfect time to claim him back.

Everyone they ever had no longer lived, and this plan was Using the Eclipse gate was her only option, granted she was uncertain how people in this present time would react to someone from the future she had to try. However there were no room for mistakes, she knew that. For Ryō. For herself. For humanity.

"It was so cool! And then unc-I mean, Nat— Lu?" Ryō spoke, his voice breaking the blonde out her thoughts. She glanced down at him with the hint of a smile, "Are you okay, Lu?" he questioned, halting as he peered up at her, eyes shining brightly.

"Yeah, sorry. I'm okay," she nodded, trying her best to reassure the child. It was a lie, but she didn't want him questioning her any further. Lucy hated lying to him, always taking the honest route with him. That's how his parents had been, always open with him when he had a question. He was inquisitive, more so than any other child, always had been. Always asking the 'what ifs' and 'how comes' of life, which reminded her that his father was— or had been, the same way.

Ryō was mid-sentence when his posture froze up, eyes widening as he inhaled deeply. That scent...it was familiar. Too familiar. He took several small sniffs before shooting off at a fast pace, leaving Lucy to blink owlishly before trailing after him.

 _What is it with this boy and running away?_

"Ryō? Ryō?!" Lucy panted as she came to a halt, glancing all around as she tried to determine which route he had taken after losing him in a backstreet which went one of three ways. "Not again..." she huffed, mentally cursing herself out for losing the boy yet again in the same day.

"Halt!"

The blondes eyes widened at the voice what boomed behind her, back straight as she stood still. She knew this was going to happen eventually, but she couldn't be caught now, not when Ryō was wandering around alone in the city. Taking a deep breath, she started running in attempts to not only find the missing boy, but to also lose this mystery person who was on her trail.

* * *

Kagura sighed as she leant back in the arm chair reading over the note Yukino had left. It was a simple thank you and how she was indebted to the swords-woman for extending help towards her. There were no words on where she had disappeared to, which made Kagura hope that she was safe.

Placing the note back on the desk, her mind reeled off to today's events at the Grand Magic Games, a small smirk tugging at her lips as she recalled the defeat of Sabertooth. She had to hand it to Natsu, she didn't expect him to pull through like he did. Kagura took note to send him a thank-you gift, maybe some flowers. Then again, would a dragon slayer even appreciate flowers? She mulled over it, wondering what exactly the Fairy Tail mage would like.

 _Ugh, Fairy Tail._

Her mood soon soured at the mention of the guild's name, knowing that the guild was harbouring a killer and no one had taken notice, not once. The the one who had enslaved him in completing the Tower of Heaven, the one who had been responsible for her brother's death. The one responsible for all of her heartbreak and misery and the one she swore to kill.

 _Jellal Fernandes_.

Her jaw tensed as his name came to mind, replaying the day she had glanced his way when leaving after the third day of the Games.

 _Stomach lurching, bile rising in her throat Kagura placed her hand over her mouth as her eyes widened in shock. No, it couldn't be. She felt her body tremble as her legs gave way, sinking to her knees as she struggled to get ahold of herself._

 _"Kagura?!"_

 _"Is she okay? What happened?"_

 _"Is there a doctor around? Somebody? Anybody?!"_

 _Her team mates voices echoed but she was too far gone, making them seem so far away. All she could focus on the face that glanced her way, as he was surrounded by Rune Knights from the Magic Council. How could he be here? Last time she had heard he was in prison, how had he escaped? She risked a look through the crowd at him, noticing his clothing._

 _Then it clicked._

 _He was the one who fought against Jura Neekis from Lamia Scale, yet had kept his face hidden from the crowds and posed as a man named Mystogan. He had bypassed the council posing as another person and it had worked. He had everyone fooled, and Fairy Tail had to play a part in it. They had to of known who exactly this man was and what he had done, they were harbouring an escaped convict._

 _"There has to be a doctor around somewhe—" Millianna's eyes widened as she glanced at the convict, knowing instantly that he was the sole reason for Kagura's sudden turn._

 _She, like Kagura's brother Simon had been enslaved in the Tower of Heaven. One of the few who blindly followed Jellal in helping him finish building the tower, only to be then informed on what he was going to do with it. Millianna felt ashamed, saddened that she had somewhat worshiped him to guide her to the path of light, only to realise she was a pawn in his sick, twisted games._

 _Fortunately, with Wally and Shô she had managed to escaped with the help from the Fairy Tail mage's. However she had heard about Simon's sacrifice, leaving her grieving for one of her best friends. Now she had a new life, a life at Mermaid Heel and out of all the times he decided to show up here?_

 _"That bastard!" Millianna growled, lunging forward only to be held back by a hand what grabbed her wrist. Blinking, she glanced down at Kagura, noting she was the one who had stopped her from attacking the man behind her best friend's pain. "Kagura.."_

 _"Don't. Please."_

 _The brunette's eyes widened at the vulnerability in Kagura's voice, shocked to hear a woman who oozed self-confidence and certainty sound so...distressed. "But Kag—"_

 _"It's fine, Millianna." Kagura spoke, trying to regain stability in her voice and regain some form of dignity as she stood back up, bracing herself on Millianna for extra support. "I'm okay." she added with a nod, glancing around at her team mates before walking away._

Kagura felt tense, rubbing her temple as she felt a pounding headache coming along. She needed a breather. Grabbing her blazer she headed out for a walk, hoping the cool air would help to clear her mind. To free herself from thinking about Jellal, yet all she could think about was him. The swords-woman knew she had to come up with a plan, she needed her revenge and he was right under her. This was the time to act, she couldn't let him slip away after the Magic Games ended. The sooner his blood was stained on the blade of Archenemy, the quicker she could let go of the notion knowing that he was roaming around freely without a care in the world.

Sooner or later, Jellal Fernandes was going to end up dead and for some sick, sadistic reason, it bought nothing but sheer satisfaction to her that _she_ was going to be the sole reason behind his demise.

"Hey, Kagura!"

Kagura blinked several times, broken out of her reverie to see Natsu, along with what she assumed some of his friends and guild mates. "Oh, hello Natsu." she greeted him back. She glanced at the group, noting the blonde who had been victim to Minerva's attack during the Harbour War match. "I see you're looking better than you did after that match."

Lucy smiled solemnly, "Yeah, I'm okay. But it's thanks to Wendy and her healing I'm out and about so soon." she glanced at the young bluenette who was mumbling off 'it was nothing' as she hid her blush behind her hand. _Ever so modest, Wendy._ "I must say, you was amazing in your match against Yukino yesterday." the blonde added.

"No kidding, you cut down that snake like it was nothing." the one with short, dark hair added.

Kagura wanted to thank them for their kind compliments, yet bringing up Yukino stopped her from doing so. "Hn." she replied simply. She didn't intend to shrug them off and come off as rude, so she hurried in extending her words. "Thank you. Lucy is it?" The blonde celestial wizard nodded, shooting her a smile. She then shifted her gaze to the man who stood beside Natsu.

"Gray. Gray Fullbuster."

The Mermaid Heel ace nodded. Clearing her throat she glanced back at Natsu, "By the way, nice victory over Sabertooth today. Almost thought you didn't have it for a moment."

"Ah, it was nothing." Natsu shrugged her off, rubbing at the nape of his neck. "I mean, it felt somewhat satisfactory. Especially after...well, you know..."

Kagura nodded in understanding, knowing that part of his victory over the Twin Dragon's of Sabertooth was for Yukino. He didn't have to say it out loud, the look he gave her alone was enough to tell her. "Thank you." she muttered, shooting the dragon slayer a hint of a small smile.

"Look, I don't mean to be rude here but we got somewhere to be." the tall one who stood off from the side grumbled out, shooting them all a glare.

"Don't be rude!"

"Shut up, blondie!"

"Don't shout at Lucy, you heap of trash!" Natsu growled.

"You wanna fucking go, flame brain? I've got a bone to pick with you as it is!" the long haired man replied, butting heads with Natsu.

Kagura blinked, unable to believe that these two men were the ones who beat the two dragon slayers from Sabertooth. The two men were currently on the floor wrestling with one another.

"Eh, sorry about them." Lucy laughed uncomfortably as she watched the two men brawl on the floor like a pair of children. Granted this was nothing new to the Fairy Tail guild, if anything Lucy had gotten used to it, but it was still embarrassing when they fought in public. Especially in front of Kagura! _Oh gosh, I bet she think's we're absolutely crazy!_ Lucy sighed, knowing that her reputation for associating with the _man children_ was tarnished. There goes ever trying to befriend the Mermaid Heel mage..

Gray shook his head, tutting at their behaviour. "I swear we're not all stupid and barbaric as those two idiots." he gestured towards Natsu and Gajeel.

"What was that?! Better watch I don't shove a iron pole up your ass!"

"Yeah! Who you calling barbaric? Ice for brains!"

"Okay, that's it!" Gray jumped in the scuffle, causing Lucy to face palm.

"I think I'm gonna..." Kagura slowly backed away.

Lucy didn't blame her from wanting to get away from the insanity that is the Fairy Tail guild. _Take me with you_ , she mentally pleaded. "Good idea. Goodbye!"

* * *

"You! Stop right there!"

Lucy's eyes widened, recognising the voice echoing throughout the alleyways of Crocus. She knew that voice. It was one rather familiar to her, one who had helped her greatly back in her time to protect the young boy who was currently missing. He was the one who died, the one who used himself to bait out the boy's father and his hoard of dragons so she could get the boy away from his father's harm. He gave them time to run away and find some form of safe place.

 _Could he be of assistance now?_

She came to a halt, noting she was at a point which overlooked the city of Crocus. It was a sight to behold, especially when it didn't look this way from the time period she came from. The only thing what bloomed in that flower populated capital was the destruction, the dragon's destroying every single building the city once had.

"I'll reveal my identity if you do the same."

Lucy turned around in time to see him take off his hat and pull down the scarf to reveal his face. It was him. Jellal Fernandes. She gasped, thankful that she was correct in remembering his voice.

"Now, if you don't mind can you—" he froze, eyes wide as the hooded figure pushed back the hood to reveal their face. _There was no way...it couldn't be!_ He stepped back a few times, mouth agape as he took in their appearance.

Blonde hair, brown eyes, a face he recognised all too easily.

"Lu-Lucy?"

* * *

 **Oooooh, the plot thickens! Not really, but kinda. Ha. But on with the replies!**

Amandineylan:Thank you so much! Same, Rogura is my favourite crackship which doesn't get enough appreciation. The fan art warms my heart, especially the one with Frosch in it too! Just thought I'd contribute to the greatness that could be Rogura, and no, thank you for taking your time to read this. It's appreciated! (:

Mira D. Blackjack: Trust me, I can't wait to write out those Rogura and Ryō moments too. I'm sure you'll be pleased with the next chapter.. ^_^

WaterNinja1092: All those predictions! Could Future!Rogue really do that to his own child? Who knows. We'll soon find out! Thank you for all your wonderful comments, they're greatly appreciated and I'm glad you're enjoying the story. (:


	7. Dragon History

**Surprised at myself at being able to crank out another chapter so quickly. It's so simple and easy tp write out since in know the outline of each chapter, so expect updates (somewhat) quickly (hopefully!). A slightly longer chapter than usual I believe, yet I hope you guys enjoy it.**

* * *

Rogue sighed, slouching as his forearms rested on his thighs, mind mulling over what had happened when him and Sting returned to the inn.

He wasn't stupid. Rogue knew that they were both going to have to face Jiemma, and most likely the whole of the guild would be forced to watch —just like yesterday, with Yukino— as their guild master verbally tore into the Twin Dragon's, he had accepted his fate when they were in the infirmary. Yet what he didn't expect was what would transpire during the confrontation.

 _Standing beside Sting, Rogue's head was held high however his gaze was averted to the tiled floor. He didn't have to look but he knew Jiemma had a scornful look on his face, showing how displeased he was with the Twin Dragons efforts during their tag team match. It didn't take a genuis to know that this sudden 'guild meeting' was going to end on a good note._

 _Everyone in the Sabertooth guild was gathered in the main hall of the inn, standing far away from the two dragon slayers, most of them with a knowing look on their faces as they prepared for what was about to happen to Sting and Rogue. It didn't take much thought to figure out just exactly what was going to happen, as the same thing had happened only twenty-four hours ago to a previous member, leading them to be banished from the guild. A few had smirks, knowing that the two egotistical mage's were about to be put in their place. The top dogs of the Sabertooth food chain were about to be chewed out, and it bought nothing but sheer satisfaction to those who despised them._

 _The silence was uncomfortable, the two waiting for fate to take them as Jiemma stood silent before the two men. No one dared utter a word. Rogue could tell that Sting was getting impatient, the blonde shuffling his weight from one foot to the other, loose hands tightening into fists. Sting always was the impatient of the two. But right now that didn't matter, all what Rogue knew was that he and his best friend weren't coming out of this meeting unscathed._

 _"Sting, Rogue." Jiemma spoke, spitting out their names with unhidden malice. Sting flinched at the tone used, a shiver going down Rogue's spine at the tone used. No matter how many times they heard their guild master use that tone, neither of them got accustomed to it. "Have anything to say about your pitiful display today?" he questioned._

 _Rogue swallowed thickly, knowing he was going to have to pick his words carefully. "I apologies, Master. It seemed to be going in our favour, however Natsu's strength, he bested us. His power was-"_

 _"I don't want to hear your stupid excuses!" Jiemma shouted, swatting Rogue was like he was a harmless fly, sending him crashing into the wall. Sting blinked at the sheer force used only to go flying into the wall opposite his friend. "You told me you were the Twin Dragon's! That no one could measure up to your power, how you were the epitamy of true dragon slayers. I don't want to hear your petty excuses, boy!"_

 _Rogue could only look down in shame, his hand rubbing at the throbbing ache spreading across his back. Jiemma was right, he had said that they were the strongest, he had bragged that no one could hold a candle up to him and Sting, yet today he was proven wrong. There was someone who was more powerful than them. There was someone who matched them in their skill and stamina, if not bested him and Sting. Today proved that there was someone better than them and that lead to them being defeated by Natsu Dragneel. A man who belonged to none other than their rival guild, Fairy Tail._

 _ **You think he's right? Wrong. You are the strongest. Don't let him talk down to you like that, he has no idea what you are truly capable of.** Rogue blinked, the world around him seeming to come at a standstill as the sound around him muffled out as he lost himself in his own mind. That voice, was the voice he recognised earlier, the one which spoke to him. **I can give you a taste of what your true potential is, once you do that the old bastard won't know what hit him. We can take him out. Show him the true, destructive power that is dragon slaying magic.**_

 _"I... I can't..."_

 ** _You can. Just give me the word and we can end that miserable, pathetic excuse for a life. Trust me, we can rule together._**

 _"No!" Rogue breathed out, clutching his head in his hands, pain shooting through his mind as he tried to will the voice away. It laughed at him. **Stupid boy. Don't worry, your time will come.** His heart quickened, the voice inside him bought an unsettling feeling to the dragon slayer. Rogue looked down to see Frosch by his side, paw gripping at the fabric of his kimono staring up at him with wide eyes, tears threatening to spill over._

 _"Rogue are-"_

 _"LECTOR! NO-"_

 _Rogue glanced over to see a flash of white light, the red exceed being pulled in with a scared look on his face. "Sting, help me!" Lector cried out before dissapearing. It had taken a moment before Rogue realised what had just happened. Jiemma killed Lector. Yesterday, he had forced Yukino to strip down and erase her guild mark before forcing her out the guild. Today, he had taken the life of Sting's companion and best friend, Lector._

 _The shadow dragon glanced over at his best friend, whose body shook as he cried out over the loss of his best friend. He picked Frosch up, cradling the exceed close to his body, hoping that his exceed wasn't next to be vanquished to nothing._

 _It had all happened so quickly, one moment Lector was standing there, only for a second later for him to be engulfed by a blinding light, his voice echoing out to Sting for his help. Jiemma had taken Lector's life right in front of the whole guild and didn't look remorseful at all. Yesterday he had forced Yukino to strip down in front of the entire guild, before telling her to scrub away her guild mark. Today he had taken Sting's companion and best friend._

 _"Pathetic scum... Who let such a thing bear the Sabertooth ma—" Jiemma was cut off, a fist covered in white light punching through the center of his chest. His eyes widened in shock that someone had struck him, his body slumping down to the floor as he looked back at his attacker._

 _Rogue couldn't believe who he was seeing standing in front of the guild master; fists clenched, stance ready for a fight to break out, showing that he was ready to go if needed be. Teeth bared as they tried to calm the rage building within them, yet it was showing hard to contain as their body shook with anger._

 _Sting._

 _"You stupid boy, who do you think you are—"_

 _"That's enough, father." Minerva spoke, instantly shutting her father up as she stepped forward. She looked at Sting with a knowing smirk before glancing back at her father. "Well... It seems as if Sting has bested you, I always knew his potential would shine through eventually."_

 _"My... My potential?" Sting questioned, brows furrowed as he looked at Minerva._

 _The woman let out an amused sound, humoured by him not understanding. "You're power, Sting. It seems like your true power has been awakened, and to think all it took was to see your silly cat killed before your very eyes." Minerva saw the rage build in the blonde yet again, his first raised to strike her for talking about Lector. Her hand came out to stop him approaching her, "The power of raging emotions. This is the exact power Natsu had over you, that's why he had the advantage on you. You see, Sting. Your feelings for Lector are what give you strength, the strength you need."_

 _Rogue blinked, "His power lies...within his emotions?"_

 _Minerva hums, her gaze casting down at her father, who was laid out on the floor, blood seeping out of the gaping hole from Sting's attack. "Seems as if your reign of terror has come to an end, father." she smirked. "Don't worry about your seat, it will be filled by someone worthy. And since Sting was the one to put you in your place, I suggest he take the throne as Sabertooth master."_

 _"Minerva... You hateful witch!" Jiemma growls._

 _"What was your mantra? There is no place for losers. Or are you an exception? You disgust me." she rolls her eyes, stepping on his body to move closer to Sting. Raising her hand, she cups Sting's cheek gently, "Sting, you can wield this power and surpass Natsu. Take the seat as master of Sabertooth."_

 _The dragon slayer blinks, a stray tear falling from his eye. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I can..."_

 _"Oh but don't fear, your precious Lector is still alive."_

 _Sting's eyes widened._

 _"He was just simply teleported during my father's attack. He's not hurt, just simply shaken at the events." Minerva explains with a shrug, a hand flipping her hair over shoulder._

 _Frosch glanced up at Rogue, "Lector... Lector didn't go bye-bye?"_

 _"No. No he didn't." Rogue replied, hugging the exceed closer to him, attempting to calm the shakiness of the cat. Minerva had saved Lector during the attack, but at what cost?_

 _"You mean it milady? He's still alive?!" Sting let out a sigh of relief, collapsing to his knees. "Thank you... Thank you. Thank you so much, just please bring him back—"_

 _"Don't be so naïve!" Minerva scolded him, forcing Sting to look up at her helpless. "You'll be able to see your precious Lector again only if we win the Grand Magic Games."_

 _"What are you saying? Why are you doing this to me? Stop this, and bring Lector back!" Sting choked out, rubbing away at his tear stained cheeks. He couldn't believe that she was being so cruel, yet then again, Sting reminded himself that this was Jiemma's daughter._

 _The dark haired woman scowled, "You should be thankful I'm not like my father! But the Sabertooth guild is stills destined for greatness and I won't expect any less. I won't allow our status as the best in Fiore be taken away. Losing Lector unlocked your new power, and that power was enough to leave my father in a helpless heap on the floor. Surely you want to show your new power of to the world, right?"_

 _Sting looked down, gaze casting off to the side as he mulled over Minerva's words. She wanted him to take over the Sabertooth guild as master? There was no way he could do that, he was only nineteen years old. He couldn't simply lead a guild. Sabertooth needed someone with knowledge and an iron fist to lead the guild into greatness. That's why there were number one in Fiore._

 _Minerva shot him a smirk before turning her back to him, "Oh and before you get it into your mind to blow a hole through me, just remember I'm in control of Lector's life and I can end it if I see fit."_

 _Closing his eyes, Sting took in a deep breath before getting to his feet. "Milady," The woman stopped in her tracks, not bothering to turn around to face the blonde. "If I win, you'll return Lector unharmed?" he questioned._

 _"Yes. If you use those feelings to destroy our enemies in our path, and win... Lector will be returned."_

 _"Alright. I'll win this, for Lector. You can count on it."_

Lector's life was a stake, and Rogue knew that he'd have to win in every match he was pitted up against. He had no say, not that he wouldn't. Rogue knew how much Lector meant to Sting, as much as he cared deeply for Frosch. If it was himself in this situation he'd expect Sting to do the same for him, so he couldn't let his best friend and team mate down.

Letting out a deep breath Rogue winced, instantly regretting it as the pain in his ribs throbbed, hand ghosting over the area. He was sure he may have a broken rib or two, especially with how much force Jiemma had thrown him with. Rogue made a mental note to seek out medical attention about that tomorrow morning, before he moved to training for the final day of the Grand Magic Games. Luckily tomorrow was a day of rest, however he knew that Sting was going to push everyone to train, especially with what was at stake.

 _Maybe you should have listened to me, then you wouldn't be feeling like this._ "Whatever." Rogue mumbled, rolling his eyes. _If you would have given me the go ahead, that old bag would have been dead as soon as. Lector would still be here. You're pathetic._ The voice replied, cackling at his inability to give in.

His mind wandered, was it _his_ fault? If he would have just said yes, then maybe all of this would have been prevented. Lector would still be here, and his life wouldn't be left in the balance of the Sabertooth mage's and the outcome of the Games. No ones life should ever be used as a wager, no matter what.

"Rogue?"

 _Speaking of lives been put on the line._ Rogue lifted his gaze to the ace of Mermaid Heel, Kagura Mikazuchi. "Oh, hello." he greeted her.

The woman stared at him, hazel eyes analysing his position; a hand cradling his side, jaw tense as he winced slightly. He was hunched over, noting that he wasn't sitting with his back on the bench. _Injury?_ She knew that after every match the competitors were treated for any injuries, so why did it look like he was in pain?

Then it hit her.

It had to have been after be went back to Sabertooth's inn. Had their master done this to him? Had he hurt Sting aswell? She had heard stories about the guild's master, and if the treatment of Yukino was anything to go by she knew that had to be the reason.

Her mouth opened a fraction as if to say something, however it closed shut immediately. She didn't feel she had any place in saying anything. What goes on in our guild is strictly between our guild, the blonde had told her. But could she idly stand by as she let their guild master abuse them? Kagura simply couldn't. She didn't let it slide with Yukino, and she'd be damned if she let it slide with the dragon slayer.

"It was him, wasn't it?"

Rogue closed his eyes, hating that she was smart enough to jump to the conclusion that it was Jiemma who had done this to him. The voice inside his mind was right, he was pathetic. If he was that much stronger he could have protected Sting, and in turn protected Lector. But he wasn't strong enough, and he hated it.

He opened his eyes to look at the swords-woman, and hated how Kagura looked at him. It was a look of pity, something he didn't want or need. Then again, he didn't blame her for looking at him like that. He was weak. He couldn't even protect himself, never mind his friends.

"Yeah." he answered simply.

The swords-woman nodded curtly before sitting down on the bench, leaving some distance between herself and the dragon slayer.

Kagura knew it had been Jiemma, and yet again she found herself questioning for the second time today just why he stayed in Sabertooth. Friends? From what she gathered that guild had no concept of friendship, or respect in her opinion. She remembered Sting laughing at her for thinking that any of them cared for one another, when she confronted them about Yukino. None of them cared about one another, only about themselves and their status in that guild.

All Sabertooth cared about was their number one status in Fiore, and said guild was filled with self-centred glory hounds.

However when she glanced at Rogue she didn't see that. From her earlier observations she knew that he was different from his guild mates, well… _members_. Kagura saw a lot of herself in the shadow dragon slayer; the calm and composed aura he always had, stoic facial expression and carried himself with a quiet confidence in his skills. It was a stark contrast to how the other members in Sabertooth acted. In all honesty, she found those qualities quite attractive.

His appearance also was a stark contrast to most of the Sabertooth members. He dressed himself in dark clothing, which matched the somewhat dark aura he exuded. Yet despite the cool, composed and constant frown which adorned his face, he was quite handsome. Black hair which contrasted against pale skin framed his face, a prominent tuft covering the majority of his forehead as well as his right eye. Carmine coloured eyes, ones what could be intimidating when needed be, yet now held a soft, faraway look to them. A straight nose and lips darkening in their shade of pink as his canines bit into his bottom lip.

If she didn't pity him right now, she might have felt somewhat jealous over how good looking Rogue was. _Got a little soft spot for the shadow dragon slayer, eh Kagura?_ Kagura inwardly scowled as Risley's words from earlier echoed in her mind. It wasn't a soft spot, she was just concerned for his well-being, especially in a guild such as Sabertooth…right? _Right._

Rogue cast a sideways glance over at Kagura, only to notice her staring at him. He turned his head, taking note of her flushed cheeks and wide eyes before she turned her head away from him. He blinked slowly, his mind trying to comprehend exactly what had just happened. He had caught her staring at him and she blushed. She was blushing? There was no way the mighty Kagura Mikazuchi was caught blushing, right? _Right._

Kagura stood up, straightening out her skirt as she coughed lightly, attempting to get rid of the lump what had formed in her throat. "Well, goodnight." she spoke shakily, walking away stiffly.

"Goodnight?" Rogue replied, confused as to what had just happened.

* * *

"What… I… What have you bought us to?" Lucy questions as she looks at the giant carcasses what littered the underground, ones which used to be mighty living creatures known as dragon's.

"Can't you see, blondie? It's a dragon graveyard."

"I can see that." the celestial wizard replied in a snarky tone, rolling her eyes.

"There's so many." Gray mused, shaking his head at the unbelievable sight.

The fact that there was a dragon graveyard under the Domus Flau, the place where the Grand Magic Games were held, and no one knew about it until now. How had they gotten here in the first place? Even more so, why were they underground?

Wendy look around, eyes wide with shock that there were so many skeletons of dragons in the underground caves. She could count at least twenty, possibly more as the cave seemed to go on forever. Her mind wandered to her dragon parent, Grandeeney, the one who had gone missing seven years ago. Was she possibly…

"Do you think…" Natsu started, seeming to question what Wendy was starting to question herself. "Do you think that Igneel and…" the dragon slayer closed his eyes, finding himself unable to finish the question he didn't want to know the answer to. Natsu didn't know what he would do if he came across his parent dragon's body, now decayed to nothing but bones.

Gajeel's jaw tensed, his eyes narrowing as he knew what Natsu was getting at. He heard Lucy gasp as she finally understood what Natsu had been attempting to ask. In all honesty, Gajeel didn't know what to think. Like Natsu and Wendy, his dragon Metalicana, had gone missing seven years ago and he was still looking. He never gave it a thought that his dragon parent could be lying amongst the mass of bones, until now.

"No," Natsu shook his head vigorously, almost as if he was physically trying to shake the words out of his mind. "I refuse to believe Igneel is gone. I know he's still out there, and the same is for Grandeeney and Metalicana!"

Gajeel blinked, somewhat shocked by the fire dragon slayers outburst, yet grinned. "You're right, flamebrain." he nodded before glancing at Wendy, "They're still out there, somewhere. I can feel it."

Wendy blinked several times before a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

Gray walked further into the graveyard, manoeuvring around the giant bones, Lucy trailing behind him. "Something big must have been in their way for them all to be dumped here."

The blonde nodded in agreement, "Whatever it was, it must have been stronger than them." And Lucy hoped she never found out what had managed to overpower something as mighty as a dragon. They were powerful creatures, yet they had been wiped out to the point of being non-existent.

Wendy's brows furrowed in thought, her mind drifting back to the papers Porlyursica gave her which contained spells. Her mind recalled a spell, named Milky Way. One which enabled her to find souls of the deceased, ones which hadn't ascended to heaven. Maybe, just maybe she could…

Instantly she grabs a something which resembles a stick, or most probably a bone from one of the dragons and starts drawing a magic circle in the dirt. The four wizards and the three exceed's observe the girls actions silently, confused as to what she was doing.

"Wendy, now is _not_ the time to be drawing! And on the _graves_ of dragons too. How disre-"

"I'm not drawing, Carla!" Wendy cuts her off with a small glare before continuing her work. "Well, I am. But it's a magic circle."

"For what?"

Wendy ignores the further question, letting out a pleased sigh once she has finished. She takes a glance at the curious faces, knowing they was all wondering what exactly she was planning to do. "It's for a spell, it's called Milky Way. It was one I learned from the notes Porlyursica gave me before the Games. I'm going to use it to try and find a soul."

"A soul?" Natsu blinked, "Wait… Are you telling me you're trying to contact the dead?"

The sky dragon slayer nodded, only to earn some inhuman sound come from the blonde. "Are you crazy? Contacting the dead?!" Lucy's eyes almost bulged out of her head.

"I thought it would be a good way of finding out how the dragons got here, that's all." Wendy winced, her shoulders slouching as she looked down.

"Hn." Gajeel shifted his weight from one foot to the other, "Carry on."

Wendy looked at Gajeel with wide eyes, only to receive a curt nod from him, signalling for her to continue with the spell. She glanced at the exceed's, who nodded before looking at Gray and Natsu. The pair looked indifferent, only for salmon-haired man to give her a thumbs up.

"Go for it, ignore whatever Lucy says. No one really listens to her anyw-" Thump. "Ouch! Hey, that was rude!" Natsu growled, rubbing the slowly forming lump on the back of his head, curtesy of Lucy.

The bluenette giggled at the pairs antics, before kneeling down in the centre of the circle. "Wandering dragon souls, I welcome your voices… Milky Way!" she chanted, raising her arms in the air as a pale green light shone down, illuminating the cave. Tiny specks —almost like fireflies— floated around as Wendy searched for a lost soul. She could hear faint sounds, the voices of all the dragons what laid to rest around her. And then she felt it. Clasping her hands together, Wendy closed her eyes as she prayed for the soul to come forth.

The small specks of green light banded together to form a large circle, almost like a portal. Then came a mighty roar, one which had the four wizards and the exceed's screaming as they gazed up on ghost of a dragon.

Wendy opened her eyes, instantly falling back from her kneeling position at the sight of the dragon. It laughed at the reactions, "Ah, a humans expression at the sight of a dragon never gets old!"

"Who are you?" Natsu asked.

"My name is Zirconis, the Emerald dragon." the mighty creature replied. "I must admit it has been some time since I have conversed with a human, even then many didn't talk with dragons. How may I be of service to you?" he questioned.

"All of these dragons… How did you…?" Wendy paused, not knowing how to word it properly. She felt wrong for just plainly asking 'how did you die?' and she didn't want to come off rude. The last thing she wanted was to anger the spirit of the dragon.

"Hmm, I'm assuming you're wondering how we died, correct?" The five of them nodded, the Emerald dragon starting the storied history of the dragons. "It goes back around 400 years ago, we dragons were rulers of the land and humans were merely food to us. One dragon believed we could love harmoniously with one another, therefore wanting to form a truce with the humans. However not all of us were willing to get along with the humans, and it started a civil war between the two sides. Pro-human and the opposed. Humans were taught dragon slaying magic."

Natsu glanced at Wendy and Gajeel, noticing their shocked expressions. "Humans were taught dragon slaying magic?" he questioned.

"Yes, they were to help with the war. And it was not long before the pro-human side moved into favour of existing alongside humans. However we dragons didn't see the threat of the the humans who knew dragon slaying magic. One in particular fought both humans and dragons, exiling himself from both parties. I was one of the many dragons the man had slain. He bathed in the blood of the deceased dragons so much that he turned into one."

Gray's eyes widened in disbelief, "He turned into a dragon?"

"Yes, if a dragon slayer is to bathe in the blood of a dragon numerous times, they themselves will turn into a dragon." Zirconis explained. "That said person was proclaimed to be the Dragon King." the spirit added.

"The Dragon King? Do you happen to know the name of the said person?"

The Emerald dragon nodded, "His name was Acnologia."

* * *

 **Seems as if Rogue likes talking to himself..heh. But that Rogura interaction though. I hope your shipping feels are sated! And it seems our Fairy Tail friends have found out the history of dragons. Sorry for no Ryō in this chapter, he'll be exploring next time! Who knows what trouble that kid will get into.. Until next time, thanks for reading!**


	8. Late Night Findings

**Gosh, this took forever to write up. But finally, it's here! Hope you guys enjoy it.**

* * *

"It… It can't be. This is impossible!" Jellal spoke under his breath, still not willing to believe what was right in front of him was the celestial spirit mage. He knew Lucy was currently still working off her injury during her battle with Minerva, yet here she was looking somewhat okay. But something felt off about her. She looked distressed, her teeth worrying her bottom lip as she looked like she was about to burst out into tears at any given moment.

"Lu—" he starts yet stops himself in the midst of saying her name, unsure of calling her that. "May I ask of your name?"

The blonde nods, "Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia."

The heavenly body mage blinked, she definitely looked like Lucy, exactly like her. Almost like she had been cloned. But if this was Lucy she wouldn't have ran away from him, would she?

They were apart of the same guild, kind of.

With him posing as Mystogan, his Edolas counterpart and Fairy Tail mage, Jellal convinced Makarov to let him participate as he wanted to get closer to Crocus to investigate the strange power surrounding the Grand Magic Games. He had spent the past day tracking this dark power throughout the Domus Flau he sensed and it had lead him to now, standing in front of a woman who looked identical to Lucy Heartfilia.

"Out of all the familiar faces I've seen, I'm glad to run into you, Jellal." the blonde smiled solemnly. The escaped convict inhaled a sharp breath, his eyes wide with disbelief. He hadn't even told her his name, yet she already knew of him. "If you don't mind, can I ask for your assistance?" her voice was quiet, if not exhausted with a hint of raspiness. A stark contrast to the Lucy he knew of.

"You're quite different from the Lucy I know, who are you and how come you look exactly like her?"

A small smiled tugged at the corners of Lucy's lips. _Always the smart one for questioning ones motives further before he does anything rash, that's Jellal._ She understood his hesitation, and if she wanted his assistance then the most she owed was an explanation. "I am Lucy Heartfilia, but from a different time line to this one. I am from the future, seven years from the present to be precise."

"The future?" Jellal's brows furrowed in confusion, "You came here from the future… But how?"

"The Eclipse Gate. During a solar or lunar eclipse it allows the user to travel back in time, but it takes the twelve zodiac keys to open and close it. In my time, the gate was never closed, as two of the keys went missing. It wasn't my intention to ever use the gate but this was my only option, we waited until the lunar eclipse to use the gate."

"We? You travelled with a companion?"

"Yes, his name is Ryō. He's only a child, he's gone missing. He ran away not long before you found me. I need to find him, it's urgent. He can't be out here alone…not with—" Lucy paused, taking a deep breath to calm herself from going hysterical.

"Not with what?" Jellal questions, eyebrows raising in curiosity.

Lucy knew it was only a matter of time before he tracked her scent and he'd come looking for her, stop her plan and end her life for good after taking his son away from him. He could already be here as it is. But she didn't know, and it terrified her that Ryō was a walking target all alone.

"This boy you speak of, Ryō. Is he your son?" Lucy shook her head. "I see…" Jellal mumbled, trying to process what she had told him. So this Lucy was from seven years in the future, used the Eclipse gate to travel back in time to X791 with a boy who wasn't hers, said child was currently missing and she feared for him being alone for some reason she didn't say.

To think tracking that dark power he sensed would lead him to this…

This whole situation felt deeply overwhelming and Jellal felt like he had stumbled upon something what ran deeper than what she was letting on. There were things that this Lucy wasn't telling him. If she wanted his assistance, then she had better start talking. Granted this was someone he knew, albeit the person was from the future, but a familiar person no less. Plus her look of constant distress put him on edge, like she was waiting for something. A threat? Maybe whatever was apparently after the boy?

"You said using the gate was your only option, why are you here? Why did you travel back to this time?" Jellal asked.

Lucy let out a shaky breath, her hand gripping onto the fabric of her cloak. "In my present the world ceases to exist, the whole of Ishgar destroyed. A war hit Fiore, I wouldn't say we succeeded in protecting our country but we scraped by. Then came the attack of the dragons on all the countries, that killed off the majority of our population. Only a small percentage of the human race remains, trying to make some sort of life or gather what life they have left. Ryō—" she paused, swallowing down the lump what had formed in her throat. "His parents… His mother died during a fight with his father. Ryō saw… He watched him take his mothers life."

"Is he the reason why the boy can't be left alone?" Jellal received a simple nod from Lucy, who was rubbing at her cheeks, wiping away the tears what had started falling. "Is he a threat to the child?" the mage inquired further.

Lucy bit into her bottom lip, eyes casting downwards. "I don't believe he would ever cause harm to his son…" Then again, this _is_ Rogue, she thought. He had become extremely unpredictable with his actions. "But I know that he wants him back for his own selfish purposes. I made a promise to his mother before she passed that I would protect Ryō from him. For such a young age Ryō possesses a surprisingly vast amount of magic power, I have no doubts that his father would exploit it for his own personal gain."

The heavenly body mage frowned, his gaze shifting to the floor as he mulled over what she had told him. His gaze shot up as he heard Lucy let out a small laugh, it was weak and empty of humour.

"He never used to be like this, Ryō's father that is. He was a man that used to be one of the happiest people I knew. It's amazing how one thing can trigger a domino effect and bring someone into complete darkness." Lucy smiled grimly, sniffling looking back at Jellal. "The reason I'm here… I'm here to change the future. For Ryō, for a better chance of life. Not just for him, but for everyone. If I don't this present is going to go down the same route as my present and the way to do so is to destroy the Eclipse Gate." she added.

"Destroy it? But didn't you use the gate yourself?"

"Yes, but there is no other choice. It has to be destroyed. He used it once, to bring the dragons back and I have no doubts that he'd use it again if he could. The gate has to be destroyed so Ryō's father cannot use it."

"Understood." Jellal nods. "I'll think of something, I'm not sure what… But I will help you."

Lucy's eyes widen, instantly filling up with more tears what were on the verge of falling, "You will?" Jellal nodded only to be engulfed by the blonde throwing herself into his arms, one hand gripping into the fabric of his cloak. "Thank you… Thank you so much!" she sobbed.

Jellal hesitantly placed his hand on her back comfortingly, patting her gently. He noted this Lucy was deeply hysterical, over-emotional yet it was to be understood, especially with what she had told him of her present time. This was a woman who had possibly lost everything and everyone she ever had and was holding on for the sake of this child, Ryō. It was understandable why she wanted to change her past, and he was willing to help her.

After a few minutes the blonde eventually calmed down to some extent, pulling away from Jellal's hold. "I'm sorry." she mumbled, wiping away at her cheeks. Lucy felt embarrassed for throwing herself at him like that, yet she felt overwhelmed that he had agreed to help her on her mission.

"It's fine." Jellal shot her a small smile in reassurance. "Ryō, his parents… May I ask who they are?" he asked yet his question seemed to fall on deaf ears as he noticed the blonde shifting her weight from one foot to the other, sandals scuffing the pavement as she looked around helplessly. He heard her mumbled something about a dragon slayer. _So his father was a dragon slayer?_ That narrows it down to the six dragon slayers he knew of. If he knew some description of the child he could possibly narrow it down further to maybe one or two people. "And his mother?" the heavenly body mage asked.

Lucy frowned. "I need to see her." she mumbled before turning to walk away only to stop. She had no clue on where she was going, or where to find her. Brown eyes met as Lucy glanced back at Jellal, "Do you know of Kagura Mikazuchi?"

The blue haired man nodded, "Yes, she belongs to Mermaid Heel, I believe."

"Do you know where I can find her?"

"Sorry, but no." Jellal replied causing the blondes shoulders to slump. "Why do you ask?" he questioned.

"Because Kagura is Ryō's mother."

* * *

He actually didn't mean to follow them down here, in fact, Ryō had been trailing his father's scent but his path crossed with Natsu and the trail was thrown off. Also with the presence of Gajeel and Wendy it truly did overpower the scent of his father's, too many dragon slayers in one place. So here he was, hiding behind a rock watching the group as they talked amongst themselves, in a graveyard no less.

He had seen Wendy contact the spirit of the dead dragon, how they had told the story of the dragons and then he heard the title.

 _Dragon King._

Ryō's eyes cast downwards as he heard the dragon say that, the name bringing up nothing but unpleasant memories for the young boy. It was his father's new title apparently, according to that weird looking man with the wheel on his back. Lucy had told him not to trust that man if he ever had to converse with him, either that or run away.

His dad's new friends weren't all that nice, not as nice as his old ones.

They never gave him piggy backs like uncle Sting used to, or teach him cool new things like Laxus and uncle Gajeel used to. They never once gave him cake, not like aunt Erza did. Not one of them ever bought him a fish — although it wasn't wanted, Ryō wasn't all too fond of fish — or drew whiskers on him like Millianna used to, and none of them could hold a candle to the kindness of aunt Wendy, she was practically a saint.

As Natsu had told him his father's new friends were douches, to put it lightly in a child friendly manner.

"Acnologia, the one who attack Tenrou… He was once human?" Wendy spoke, trying to understand all that Zirconis had told them.

"According to him, yeah." Gray sighed, "It's crazy to think that he had a human form, heck it's crazy that a human could even turn into a dragon."

Silence fell upon the group as they took in the news of the dragon civil war, even Ryō tried to make sense of it all. Someone, a human could turn into a dragon if they bathed in enough blood from dragons? Is this what his father's goal is? To become one of them? His quest for power had become more of a priority than looking after his own family. _Am I not good enough? Does he even care?_

"All of this is giving me a headache." Lucy whined, rubbing her temples with her fingertips.

Gajeel scoffed, "Too much of an overload, eh blondie?" he mocked, a smirk tugging at his lips.

"Hey! Don't be so—"

"Stop." Natsu's voice echoed throughout the cave, hand raised in a means to quieten the bickering pair down. He inhaled slowly, eyes shifting around the underground. "Do you guys smell that?" he questioned.

"Unlike you, I don't have the nose of a dog." Gray stated dryly, earning glares from the three dragon slayers.

"Shut up, frosty!" Natsu growled. "But guys," he glanced at Gajeel and Wendy, who both stared back at him. "Do you smell that?" The two nodded in reply, all three of them looking around the cave cautiously. They weren't alone, someone else was here. Whoever it was they smelt familiar. The fire dragon slayer inhaled again, hoping to get a better idea of who it was. He had come across the smell before, quite recently actually. It smelt like Rogue, but not him at the same time.

Ryō's eyes widened. They knew he was here. He glanced around, looking for an escape route only to hear footsteps approaching to where he was hiding. He needed to out of here, fast. He knew he should have just not followed Natsu's scent, heck he shouldn't have ran off from Lucy to begin with. She had told him time and time again never to leave her side, especially in this present time. But his curiosity got the best of him, he had originally wanted to find his dad but then he could feel the presence of the other three dragon slayers, his feet decided to carry him there. And now it seemed he had overstayed his welcome, as they had detected him being there.

Noting a small hole in the wall, he started crawling only to be hoisted up by his collar.

"Gotcha!" Gajeel smirked, yet also glaring at the child at the same time in only a way Gajeel could. God, he is so intimidating. Ryō's instincts kicked in, legs and arms swinging as he tried to get the dragon slayer to drop him so he can escape. "Stop squirming, ya little runt." The dragon slayer growled, clutching his stomach with his free hand after being kicked there.

"A kid?!" The group exclaimed in unison.

"Put me down!"

Gajeel did, dropping they young boy unceremoniously on the ground with a thud.

"You could have just placed him down." the celestial spirit mage sighs.

"Whatever."

"Don't whatever me, you could've hurt him!" Lucy snapped, stepping closer towards the boy. The blonde crouched down as she checked him over. Gajeel simply grumbled something under his breath before returning to Natsu and Wendy about their previous topic of conversation. "I'm sorry about him, he doesn't know how to interact with people." she smiled. Ryō's blinked, taking in the blondes appearance. _So this is Lu, but a younger version._

"It's okay." Ryō mumbled, eyes casting towards the ground.

Lucy tilts her head, brown eyes taking in the boys appearance. He had the blackest hair she had ever seen, which hung around his face, a small tuft of it covering the right part of his face. The same tuft obstructed his right eye. The boy had the brightest red eyes, like smelted down rubies. His cheeks were somewhat chubby, causing her to assume he could be no older than eight years old, possibly younger. "So, what's your name?" she asked.

"Ryō."

Lucy's eyes lighten up, a smile spreading on her lips. "That's a lovely name, Ryō. Isn't that right, Gray?" she glanced back at the dark haired man.

Gray stepped forward, crouching down besides the blonde. "Yeah, that's a pretty cool name." he smiled. Lucy inwardly groaned. _Cool? Ice jokes? Gray, you're such an idiot._ "So what are you doing down here?" the ice mage asked.

The young boy was about to reply, yet he was interrupted by Natsu shouting. "No way, I'd be the cooler dragon!" the salmon haired man exclaimed.

"As if! If you were a dragon, you'd probably be pink." Gajeel scoffed.

"What's wrong with that?!" the dragon slayer growled, butting heads with the once Phantom Lord mage.

"You'd look stupid."

"Why you—!" Natsu tackled the man to the ground, the two scrapping.

"Go Natsu!" Happy cheered.

"Uh, guys…" Wendy spoke, yet her voice was overpowered by the two men bickering and throwing fists.

"Can you two shut up!" Lucy growled, shooting the dragon slayers a glare before her gaze turned back towards the young boy. "Anyway," she paused, her smile returning. "What are you doing down here all alone?"

"Yeah, you lost or something, kid? Where are your parents?" Gray added, also curious as to why the young boy was on his own.

Ryō's eyes narrowed as he fiddled with the high collar of his shirt, fixing the bow rumpled fabric after Gajeel had grabbed him. He knew uncle was rough, but this was pushing it. His father was right about how time had mellowed him out, for the better it had seemed. The young boy let out a small sigh before glancing back at the two Fairy Tail mages, "I'm looking for them."

"So you are lost?"

Well, technically he _was_ lost. But he hadn't ran off from his parents, more like his guardian. He was looking for his parents who had no idea that he existed, but instead ran into a group what was like extended family to him. Ryō didn't really know how to say that to the past version of his guardian, so he just nodded in reply.

"We can help you find them! Right, Gray?" Lucy shot the boy a smile before glancing back at the ice mage for confirmation.

"Right. Don't worry, we'll find them for you." he nodded, placing a hand on top of the boys head to muss up his hair. The kid didn't seem to like it, pouting as he fixed his hair back into place as an amused expression lit up Gray's face. "Can you tell us what they look like? We can find them easier if we know what they look like."

Ryō glanced between the two, torn between accepting their help or straight bolting it out of the underground cave as fast as he could. He should have just stayed by Lu's side. But part of him felt like he could trust them, especially the blonde. She was his Lu, albeit a younger version but it was still Lu. He was told by his mother that he could trust her with his life, that she would never turn him away in a time of need, whether it was small or big.

Could he do this with her?

His hand slowly reached into the pocket on his shorts, fingers slowly pulling out the folded up photograph. He apprehensively handed the well worn paper over to Lucy who unfolded it, her eyes going wide at who was in the photo.

To anyone else who didn't know any better it would have just seemed like a happy couple smiling as they held their child, but that wasn't the problem.

What was the problems is that Rogue Cheney and Kagura Mikazuchi were the ones in the photo, presumably holding a young Ryō in their arms.

"Isn't that…" Gray starts, brows furrowing as he studied the photograph. This had to be some form of joke, right? But the kid was right in front of their eyes so how could it be a simple prank? He glanced at Lucy whose mouth was agape, yet no words were being formed.

The celestial spirit mage shook her head, bringing herself back to reality. They had literally just saw the Mermaid Heel mage less than half hour ago, and now they had stumbled across their son? But she was no older than twenty five herself, how? Unless she had him when she was still in her teens but then that wouldn't make sense, as she believed Rogue was around the same age as Natsu and Gajeel.

"They are your parents?" Lucy questioned, gesturing to the photo he had handed to her. Ryō nodded leaving the blonde to further try and understand how any of this was relatively possible. Her eyes glanced back and forth between Rogue in the photo and the boy in front of her, trying to find something to lead her to believe it was a lie.

Yet the more she looked, the more uncanny the resemblance was. Dark hair which was similar in style, the same bright red eyes, heck it was almost like he was a carbon copy of the dragon slayer. Lucy looked at Gray who looked just as perplexed as she was.

The ice-make mage for once in his life felt speechless. He had been involved with some weird situations in his lifetime — especially with being on Team Natsu, but this took first place on that list. "Hey guys, come here a moment." he called out to the three dragon slayers and their exceeds.

"What's up?" Natsu asked, his dark haired friend saying nothing. Instead Gray handed him the photograph, Wendy and Gajeel peering over to also take a look.

"Why couldn't you have just spoke instead— oh my…" Carla's words died out as her eyes widened in disbelief. "Impossible." she whispered.

The sky dragon slayer squeaked, eyes going wide as she noted who was in the photo. "Isn't that—"

"Rogue and Kagura? Yeah. They're Ryō's parents." Gray nodded in confirmation.

"That's a load of bullsh—"

"No swearing in front of him!" Lucy shouted at Gajeel, shooting him a glare. The two eventually got into an argument with one another.

Natsu looked back and forth between the photo and Ryō. From what Gray had told him, it seemed believable that the two mages were his parents, especially Rogue.

Ryō stared back at the dragon slayer, hands fiddling with the end of his shirt. He didn't know if they were going to believe him or not, and judging by Gajeel's reaction they probably wouldn't. He knew he should have just ran away, this was a bad idea.

"So Rogue and Kagura are you're parents, huh?" Natsu spoke after a brief silence between them all, apart from Lucy and Gajeel who were still arguing off to the side. "How did you get—"

"Humans turning into dragons? I doubt that would happen in this day and age." a voice laughed, echoing throughout the underground, footsteps approaching closer. "And besides, I believe it was the dark wizard Zeref who turned Acnologia into a dragon."

Ryō shot up to his feet, running behind Lucy to hide himself away from their new visitor. The blonde blinked in shock, staring at Gajeel in disbelief. He himself looked confused by the kids actions. They had only just met him and he had already taken a shine to Lucy? Huh, weird.

"Who's there?"

Two people walked into their sight, their eyes widening as they recognised the one person.

"Yukino?!"

The ex-Sabertooth mage shot them a small smile, "It's nice to see you all again."

"Same, but who's this guy?" Natsu asked, gesturing to the armoured man standing beside her.

"I am Arcaidos. Chief of the Holy Knight squadron and this is my Sargent, Yukino Agria." the man introduced. "I'm glad we ran into you down here, especially you Lucy Heartfilia."

Lucy was taken aback, her eyes widening slightly. "Me? Why?" she asked.

"Because you're needed for the plan."

Gray's eyes narrowed as he shifted his glance between Arcaidos and Yukino, "Plan? What plan?"

The chief smiled slightly at the mages suspicious glare, "Come, follow us. I'll explain as I take you to the gate."

The group of Fairy Tail wizards looked at one another, questioning if it was safe to follow him.

"You'll be okay. Nothing will harm you." Yukino reassured them after noticing they weren't trailing behind them. Eventually they followed behind the two, listening intently as Arcaidos explained his 'plan'.

Lucy was carrying Ryō, the boys face buried in her hair as she gave him a piggyback. She didn't understand why, but the boy seemed like he had grown attached to her awfully quick. Lucy just assumed it was because she didn't hold him up by his collar and dangle him in the air, and actually spoke to him like a normal human being. She glanced over her shoulder to look at him, his face buried in her hair. "It's okay, I won't let anything hurt you." she whispered to him, shooting him a warm smile.

"Thank you, Lu." he mumbled, eyes closing shut as he focused on calming down his beating heart.

The blonde blinked. Did he just call her Lu? From what she recalled she didn't remember stating her name to him. Unless he had overheard one of her friends call it her, she didn't know. Well, that's kinda strange.

"So are you going to tell us this so called plan, or not?" Gajeel grunted, hands shoved in his pockets as he trudged behind the two guards.

"Right, of course." Arcaidos nodded. "I doubt none of you will know this, but the Grand Magic Games wasn't just set up to see who the best guild in Fiore is."

"Oh yeah, then what is it for?" Gray asked.

"To gather magic energy." he glanced back, to see a look of confusion on the faces of the Fairy Tail wizards. "A gate stores magic energy, if you were to use a spell right now it wouldn't work. The gate would simply sap away at your magic, storing it." he explained as he lead them through a tunnel which lead straight to Mercuris.

Wendy blinked, surprised. "How long has this plan been going on for?"

"Several years, but this year we finally have enough energy to use the gate. And then our plan will come to fruition."

"And the plan is?"

"The plan is to travel back in time and stop Zeref, and then in turn stop Acnologia."

Natsu's brows furrowed, "Travel back in time? But how?" He didn't believe time travel even existed, maybe in those sci-fi books and movie lacrimas, yeah. But in real life? It sounded impossible.

Arcaidos chuckled, "Oh, but it is." He halted his steps, gesturing in front of him. He heard them gasp at the sight before them. "This gate will make it possible." he nodded, confident that his plan would follow through and succeed.

They all looked in awe at the huge, elaborate doors in front of them. "This is the Eclipse Gate." Yukino announced, standing besides Lucy. The blonde felt Ryō's arms stiffen at the name, her mind leading her to believe the boy knows something about this.

"The gate needs all twelve Zodiac keys to unlock, hence why we need your assistance in—" The white haired woman glanced at Lucy only for her words to die out as she caught a glance at the boy nestled on the back of the blonde. Rogue? Yukino blinked in disbelief, feeling as if her eyes were betraying her. "What—"

"Arcaidos!" a voice echoed.

Within a blink of an eye the group were surrounded by the royal guards. All of the Fairy Tail mages were on high alert, stances ready if a fight happened to break out. Lucy had placed Ryō down, him still hiding behind her, peeking out as he glanced at the soldiers.

"Darton?" the Chief of the Knight squad's eyes widened in surprise. "What are—"

"You fool! How could you expose our plan to these people, how careless can you be?!" the Minister of Defence exclaimed, fuming. Arcaidos attempted to speak however he was cut off by Darton's voice overpowering him. "I don't want to hear your lame excuses, you have committed treason. Guards, arrest them!" He pointed to Arcaidos and Yukino, before he eyes drifted to Lucy. "And arrest her too!"

"What?!" Lucy yelled, confused as to why she was being dragged into this. Guards soon apprehended her as others escorted the Arcaidos and Yukino away. Natsu tried to push his way through, yet was being held back.

"Lucy!" the fire dragon slayer exclaimed, fist encased in fire ready to lunge off some fire balls at the guards, only to die out at seeing the young boy chasing after her. He weaved through the guards blocking their way with ease.

"Shadow dragon roar!" Ryō shouted, poised and ready as he launched at the guards. But it never came; the huge burst of shadows evaporated into thin air. He suddenly felt weak, his body going limp as he felt himself slowly crashing to the floor as his eyes drifted shut.

"Ryō!" Lucy's eyes widened as she watched the young boy slowly collapse before being pulled away from the group.

Gray managed to free himself from the grasp of the guards, jumping out to catch the boy from falling to the ground. He let out a puff of breath, glad that he had caught Ryō in time only for his relieved expression to turn into shock. The kid had just fired off a roar, and by the looks of it a mighty powerful one at that. If there was any doubts that he was the son of Sabertooth's shadow dragon slayer, they were soon gone.

Darton scowled, frustrated that the mages weren't cooperating. Especially that child, then again what did he expect from the Fairy Tail guild? "Leave, at once! Don't ever speak about this to anyone, or there will be dire consequences." he spoke lowly, glowering at the young group of wizards.

"But Lucy!" Happy cried.

"Yeah, where are you taking her? Give us our friend back!" Natsu growled, Gajeel having to hold him back from pummelling the old man.

A smirk tugged at the corners of the Ministers lips, "I suggest if you want to see her again, returned and unharmed then you better win the Games."

This time it was Gajeel who had to be held back by Natsu, "Is that a threat?" the dragon slayer asked, his voice dangerously low to the point where they knew they had to keep his restrained. Either that or Darton was about to be impaled on a metal pole. That wouldn't be good for Fairy Tail's reputation, that and Makarov would either completely ghost or murder them.

"Take it as you will." he scoffed before departing, returning back inside the castle after having the mages escorted out.

Gajeel pushed Natsu off him, storming off with Lily in tow.

Gray adjusted Ryō in his arms, glancing down at the boy. His eyes were drifting open and shut repeatedly, almost like he was tired.

"Well, what do we do now?" Happy asked as he looked at Natsu, voice unusually quiet.

Natsu shrugged before glancing at Gray for an idea. "I think it's best if we go back to the hotel, get this kid some rest and tell gramps."

* * *

 **I was kind of on the fence about this chapter at first, but I don't know. I guess I'll see how you guys react to it.**

 **Also, just to clarify this for WaterNinja1092 and any one else who is wondering 'So what happens after Ryō meets his parents? What about the GMG? What about the Dragon arc?' don't worry, I've got this all near enough planned out. No, Future!Rogue isn't just flipping out because of the death just his cat (like yeah I understand, Frosch was his best friend but really, you gonna start a war over that? Boi. He about to catch these hands.) I have Future!Rogue's backstory all planned out. If you guys noticed I did drop some hints in this chapter about Future!Rogue's past. Not going to lie I'm impressed with myself at coming up with it —shoutout to myself! But I had to give the dude some more depth.**


	9. Those Who Travel Through Time

**A slightly shorter chapter this time. Still, hope you guys enjoy!**

* * *

The room was silent as the four Fairy Tail wizards stared the boy with watchful eyes as he sat on the bed, staring back at them. It had been two hours since they had arrived back at the inn, since then Ryō had taken a nap and looked more awake than he did earlier.

Gray had told Makarov about Lucy being taken away by the guards and held captive, along with Yukino and Arcaidos. However he left out the part out about finding Ryō, not knowing how to tell their guild master they had found the boy. The ice mage was then briefly dismissed, being told that a plan would be thought of. He assumed that Makarov was going to talk to the first master to help conjure up a plan of action. He returned to Natsu's room, sitting with the three dragon slayers — Gajeel had long returned after storming off earlier — as they waited for the young boy to wake up, talking amongst themselves quietly. Ryō woke up some time later, the lightheaded feeling finally gone after he tried to save Lucy from the guards only for his attack to fail.

"It's scary how much he looks like Rogue." Wendy spoke, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence that was just the four of them staring at a child, no words being said until now. She was honestly surprised that the three men could even be silent, knowing how rowdy they could be.

"I know right."

"I'm still baffled at the fact that Kagura is his mother. Like her and Rogue— yeah." the bluenette cut herself off, face flushing pink as she thought about the two wizards. They had reproduced. It was weird. She didn't believe the two had ever even conversed, at most they knew of one another's existence. Yet somehow they had created a son? Okay.

Gajeel's eyes narrowed, "I don't know… This all too weird. This could just be a prank from Sabertooth to throw us off of our game."

Gray had to resist punching the dragon slayer. Sure, Sabertooth pretty much hated Fairy Tail and the feeling was mutual. Yet he believed that the rival guild wasn't _that_ petty. Beside's where the heck would they find a kid who was a carbon copy of one of their Twin Dragons? "A prank? Gajeel the kid literally shot a burst of shadows out of his mouth and you're telling me that this is a prank?" Gray questioned, an eyebrow raising as he glanced at the dragon slayer.

"Yes."

"But you literally saw Rogue— oh, wait. That's right, you wouldn't know as you went missing halfway through the match." the ice mage smirked, taking liberty in poking fun at Gajeel.

Wendy bit her bottom lip, shifting back as she watched the tension rose between the two men. She had no doubts that Gajeel wouldn't take kindly to that. Gray was about to get his ass kicked. Natsu watched eagerly, eyes darting back and forth between the pair as he tried to repress the laugh which was begging to be released. He had always been curious to see who would win between Gajeel and Gray. He had two hundred jewels on Gajeel. _Sorry Gray, not sorry._

"Why you little shit—"

"It's not." Ryō spoke, cutting off the dragon slayer.

"Oh yeah?" Gajeel scoffed, turning his attention to the young boy. "Then if you're _real_ ," he stressed the word, smirking when the boy glared at him. "How did you get here?"

"The gate."

Natsu blinked. The gate. What gate was he talking about? Did he mean the gate that Arcaidos had lead them too? "A gate?" he asked.

The raven-haired boy nodded, "I came through it with Lu."

The four wizards glanced at one another at the newfound information. So he hadn't travelled all alone? But if he came with this so called 'Lu', then why was he looking for his parents?

"Ryō… This Lu you speak of, who is she?" Gray asked. Part of him felt he already knew the answer to his own question, but he wanted the kid to validate it. He had taken note of how Ryō instantly latched onto Lucy when Arcaidos and Yukino joined the group in the underground. He at first believed that it was just because she had been so kind towards the boy, but now after he heard the name of who he had been with, his mind wandered. Part of Gray wanted to not believe what he was telling himself, that it might be possible that the Lu Ryō spoke of looked similar to their Lucy, but there was that _what if_ echoing in the back of his mind.

"Lucy. That's Lu's name. She looks like the one who was nice to me."

Carla frowns, "That is impossible, child! Two Lucy's don't simply exist."

"Carla!" Wendy shot her a warning glance, the exceed rolling her eyes before turning her back towards her friend.

Ryō's head lowers at being scorned by the exceed. He never was all too keen on Carla, he preferred his fathers exceed more. Frosch was more friendly. "I'm not from here." he added, voice quiet.

Gajeel snorted in amusement, his laughter echoing throughout the room. "Right, kid. Next you're gonna tell us you're from the future." he cackled, hands braced on his sides. His laughter died down when Natsu asked if he really was from the future, slapping the salmon-haired man on the back of his head. "Don't be so stupid! There is no way the runt could have come from the future."

Once again, an argument broke out between the two. Wendy shifting over towards the ice mage as the two dragon slayers brawled on the floor. She glanced up at Gray, who looked deep in thought.

"Do you think it's possible?" she asked, her eyes shifting back to Ryō. "That he came from the future?"

The ice mage let out a puff of breath, head shaking. He didn't know what to think anymore. "Ryō are you certain Lu looks like Lucy? The one who gave you a piggy back?"

Ryō nodded.

Gray's shoulders sagged, moving to sit in the armchair in the corner of the room. Fingers massaged the temples of his head, eyes closing shut as he took in deep breaths.

All of this was going to send his brain into overload.

So from what they knew, the Lu he spoke of is identical to their Lucy. But how? As Carla had said, two Lucy's couldn't simply exist. Unless… no, it couldn't. His mind drifted back to what Arcaidos had told them as he lead them through the underground tunnels of Mercuris. _"The plan is to travel back in time and stop Zeref, and then in turn stop Acnologia."_ He himself had questioned how exactly that was going to happen, until he was shown the Eclipse gate.

 _Wait._

Saying that he come from the future, could it be possible that Ryō had come in through the Eclipse gate? If the gate exists in their current time, then it's sure to exist somewhere else, right?

"Ryō you know how you said that you weren't from here," Gray started, gaining the attention of the boy who stared back at him. "Did you come through the Eclipse gate?"

Silence fell amongst the group, Natsu and Gajeel halting mid-punches as they glanced over at Gray. Wendy's head tilted to the side, pondering the ice mage's words, and to her it seemed possible. They had been told that there was a gate used to time travel, so was possible that the gate existed in a different time period? Had Ryō truly come back from the future using the Eclipse gate? And if so, where was this Lu who apparently looked like Lucy?

The young boy shifted on the bed, the silence and several pairs of eyes on him felt uncomfortable. His eyes cast downwards as his hands played with the bed sheets, "Yeah, I did."

Gray sat back in the chair, glancing at Wendy. "I think we should get Rogue and Kagura."

* * *

"Why am I locked up? I didn't do anything!" Lucy shouted, yet to no avail her pleas were unheard.

She had been doing this for the last hour, hoping to gain the attention of the guards yet they were ignoring her. The blonde let out a sigh of defeat. She had no way of getting out, they had confiscated her keys so asking Virgo to dig them a hole out of the cell was out of the question. Yukino's keys had also been taken from her, so they were both rendered useless in any attempts to escape.

Lucy glanced at the once Sabertooth mage who sat against the wall, knees pulled up to her chest, eyes staring up at the small barred window. The celestial mage sits on the wall opposite, mirroring her position. "You would have thought with my big mouth they would have told me to shut up." Lucy joked, hoping to lighten the mood, yet got no response from the woman across from her. Instead of trying to further the conversation, Lucy glanced at the moon through the window.

 _What was Natsu doing right now? Was he thinking of a way to break her out? Had he informed Makarov on what was really going on with the Grand Magic Games?_ She could only wonder, hoping that Natsu would come and rescue her like always.

 _Like always._

Lucy had to laugh at how hopeless she was, especially without her keys. Yukino's passive gaze only made her feel even worse, she couldn't do anything to help them out of here. _Does she feel as hopeless as me? Without her keys?_ Lucy felt bare without them, they were her security, her way out. Now they had been taken away she had nothing. Nothing but hope that sooner or later Natsu would be here, most probably tearing the place apart to find her.

"The boy…" Yukino's voice broke the blonde out of her thoughts, her eyes glancing towards the woman opposite. "The boy you were with when we were by the Eclipse gate, before we got arrested… Who is he?" she asked.

The Fairy Tail mage smiled at the thought of the child, at how he seemed so at ease with her. "His name is Ryō, were not too sure who he is either. He found us underground."

"He found you?"

"Mhmm." Lucy didn't know whether if to bring up the fact that the child had told her and Gray that his father was apart of the guild she once belonged to. Then again, how would you even go about saying something like that? _Hey, the kid looks awfully a lot like Rogue and we think that he's the boy's father._ Talk about untactful.

"Ryō." Yukino spoke his name, "That's a nice name." she mused. "If I recall it can mean several things…"

Lucy nodded her head in agreement, "Yeah. It can be light, goodness—" she rattled off, racking her mind. "Dragon." _Wait, I didn't..._ The blonde blinked, brown eyes widening slightly as she looked at Yukino who stared back at her, her expression unreadable.

"Dragon." Yukino repeated.

Did she already suspect that Rogue was Ryō's supposed father? Maybe she had picked up on the similarities already. Lucy gulped. "Well, yeah… That too." the blonde mumbled, her body shifting slightly under Yukino's gaze.

The white haired woman was silent for a few moments, noting how Lucy looked uncomfortable. "Ryō looked… He looks like Rogue." She noticed the blonde close her eyes, her lips pressing into a thin line. "How?" Yukino questioned.

Lucy slowly opened her eyes to glance back at the newly appointed — and possibly now stripped of the title— Sargent, "When we found him, he told us that he was looking for his parents. He had a photograph with him, and he showed it to me and Gray. His parents… His parents are Rogue and Kagura—"

"Kagura? From Mermaid Heel?"

"Yeah. I know, it doesn't make sense," she spoke, shaking her head. Even she was confused as to how his mother was Kagura Mikazuchi. "I don't know how, but they are. I never got to find out how he got here, or what he's doing here," Lucy sighed, head tilting to rest against the brick wall of the holding cell. "I just hope he's okay." She hated how the last sighting she saw of the young boy was him collapsing into Gray's arms after running after her.

Yukino sat there quiet, trying to piece together the newfound information Lucy had told her. Ryō's parents were Rogue Cheney and Kagura Mikazuchi. But how? Rogue was young, having turned nineteen a few months back and she believed Kagura to be only a few years older. Yet the boy looked to be around seven. There was no way Rogue had fathered a child, especially at his age. All of what Lucy had told her made no sense. Yukino felt nothing but a headache coming along as she tried to somehow piece together an answer.

"I'm sure there is an explanation." Lucy reassured her, as if she knew what Yukino was thinking.

"Right, of course." the ex-Sabertooth mage nodded in agreement. "What do you think they're going to do to us?" she asked after a few minutes of silence between the two of them.

Lucy blinked, shooting the woman a small smile. "I wouldn't worry about that. Natsu is coming up with something, I'm sure of it."

"And the boy?"

"Natsu will also think of what to do about Ryō."

"You think so?" Yukino asked, a shaped brow raising. The blonde seemed to put a lot of stock into believing the dragon slayer would handle it all. She had no other option but to believe in the dragon slayer too, after all, he had been the one to knock down Sabertooth a few pegs. Something what she was thankful for.

"Mhm. We'll be out of here in no time."

* * *

Princess Hisoui glanced out the window, eyes overlooking the city she called home. Building lit up, the small echo of noise coming from the streets as people slowly retreated to their homes for the night. It had been another successful day of the Grand Magic Games, meaning another successful day of gathering magic energy. Yet even that couldn't wipe away the frown that was apparent on her face. "Ten thousand dragons, you say?" she repeated, voice wavering.

"Yes." Her guest nodded, shifting his weight on either foot.

The princess turned her head to look at her visitor, "Then why are you here?"

"To warn you, to not let what is about to happen in this time repeat itself. In my time a mere ten percent of the population is alive… Is that what you want for your country?" they questioned.

Hisoui's breath hitched as he mentioned the survival rate. She couldn't let that happen to her country, she had to warn her father on the upcoming attack. "What do we do?" she asked.

Her visitor had to repress a smirk, biting into his bottom lip. He narrowed his visible eye, looking deep in thought. "The Eclipse gate… It exists in this time, right?" Of course, he knew that. _But she didn't have to know._ Hisoui nodded in reply. Great. This is going perfectly. "It can be used as a weapon. It has been said to rival an etherion blast, that should be enough to wipe out the dragons." he added.

Her eyes widened, "It can?" Her guest nodded his head. She let out a sigh of relief. But would it truly be that powerful to wipe out ten thousand dragons? "Are you sure… That it can destroy all of them?"

Her guest raised a brow in question. "You want to Crocus and the rest of Fiore to survive, don't you?" He watched as her eyes cast downwards to the floor, a small smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. She was doubting herself for even questioning him.

 _Amazing._

"Right, of course. Sorry." She lifted her head, his smirk now gone. "Thank you for this information, after we have dealt with this situation you will be rewarded greatly." Hisoui spoke, approaching the man and holding her hand out.

"Oh, no need. Saving this country is all I need." he replied, taking her hand in his. He brought it up to place a kiss on the back of her hand. She blushed. He once again had to repress a smirk. This was _too_ easy.

Hisoui briefly dismissed him, asking the guards to escort him out of Mercuris. Once he was alone the cackles of laughter rolled out of him.

The princess was too gullible, and to think that she was next in line to rule Fiore.

He didn't even have to try, she was putty in his hands when he told her about the 'dragons invading the whole of Fiore'. But the easier this was to pull of, the simpler his plan got. Now it was only a matter of waiting patiently, the final day neared. By Friday night his plan would fall into action. Soon the whole of Crocus would be under attack and he would watch as the city burned and crumbled beneath him. He would take his rightful place as the newly crowned Dragon King and take down Acnologia once and for all. Then he could finally see her again. _His beloved._ He would finally be with her again, reunited and with their son.

He knew that _she_ would appear sooner or later, as his son followed wherever she went. Whatever plan that blonde had was soon going to be destroyed along with her existence. He'd make sure to finish her off himself, both her present and future self. Soon, she would get what she had coming. Going into hiding, taking the one thing he had to remind him of the woman he loved unconditionally.

After all, it's what she deserved after taking his son away.

* * *

 **Yet another chapter I'm unsure about. But I thought I'd update, can't spend forever trying to edit it. Looking forward to writing up the next chapter. Once again, hope you guys enjoyed it.**


	10. Worlds Collide

**Back with another chapter, enjoy!**

* * *

Rogue shut the door behind him, leaning against it, wincing as the pain shot through his ribs to his lower back. _Oh right, forgot about that._ He pushed off the door slightly to relieve himself of the pain inflicted by Jiemma. He had forgotten about the ordeal, his head still caught up on other things in mind.

Such things like Kagura Mikazuchi.

He didn't understand why he cared so much, or even why he was so hung up on her words. Once during his fight against Natsu and Gajeel, and then now. He had never spoke with her until today, and he could assume that she didn't even pay him no mind until today as well. So why now? Rogue hated how she had caught him in a state of vulnerability, yet knew that she didn't care enough to go blabbering about it to other people. It was the last thing he wanted, people's pitiful stares. Her's was enough. She didn't care, so why did she bother asking? He didn't understand the look in her eyes when he had answered her question of if Jiemma being the one behind his injuries.

Maybe it was just because she had known Yukino receive the same treatment, she felt somewhat sorry for him.

But what got him the most was his final moments with the Mermaid ace. Her aloofness had disappeared, instead he caught her with wide-eyed and flushed cheeks. And then she had appeared to be for some reason flustered, bid him farewell and walked away like nothing had happened. To be honest, he had caught her staring at him so maybe that was it? But this was Kagura, such a woman shouldn't run all because of that. Right?

Truthfully Rogue didn't understand why he was overthinking a thing like this, the two had only had two conversations, both of them fairly brief, and he was getting caught up on figuring out the meaning behind her intentions.

"Oh, you're back."

Rogue glanced up to see Sting, leaning against the doorway of the bathroom. "Yeah, I am." he replied, moving over towards the bed. He sat on the edge, glancing at Frosch who was asleep, snuggled up to a pillow. "Frosch wasn't any trouble, was she?" Rogue asked, his hand moving to stroke the exceed, a small smile ghosting across his lips.

"Nope, none at all." Sting replied, moving to sit on the bed next to Rogue's. His elbows resting on his thighs as he knelt forward, a dull ache resting in his back after earlier's events. "Where'd you go?"

Rogue's shoulders rose for a light shrug, "Just for a walk around the city, sat down by the fountain."

"Mhmm." A small smile tugged at the corner of the blonde's lips. His friend always had gone off elsewhere to blow of any steam or frustrations by being alone to think, such a Rogue thing to do. Yet Sting didn't do that, it wasn't his style. Normally he would go take it out on a punching bag or train, but not tonight. He was leaving his frustration to build, simmer until boiling point, until Friday when the final day comes. Then the rest of the guild's will find out just how powerful Sabertooth truly is.

The shadow dragon slayer glanced up at his friend, a somber look on his face, very un-Sting-like. It made him feel uneasy, he had never seen his best friend look this way. Then again, they both had witnessed the blondes exceed and best friend, Lector, get eradicated only to then find out he's being held captive until they're declared the winners of the Grand Magic Games.

"Look, Sting—"

"We need to talk." Sting interrupted him, his tone deep but clear, expression hardening. Rogue closed his mouth, lips pressing into a thin line as he waited for his friend to continue. "On Friday I need you at the top of your game."

Rogue nodded, "I understand."

The blonde shook his head, "Rogue, I don't think you do." he laughed lowly.

"I do." Rogue repeated, voice raised with certainty. "I understand that you need me to succeed in whatever event they throw at us on Friday, for Lector's sake. If this was me in your situation, I'd expect the same from you. So yes Sting, I do understand." the dragon slayer added, shooting his friend a hard glare for even doubting him.

Silence fell between the two men.

Sting bit into his bottom lip, brows furrowed. "Right, of course. I apologies. I just…"

"It's fine."

The white dragon slayer nodded, running a hand through his hair. "I'm going for a shower." he muttered to himself, raising to his feet. Sting walked towards the bathroom before halting, snapping his fingers, "Oh, one more thing," he turned around to see Rogue looking at him. "You tell no one about me being appointed guild master, you hear?"

Rogue raised a brow. So he had accepted the role of guild master? But then that would mean—

"If anyone finds out that I'm competing with that title, we'll be disqualified."

 _Of course._

"Sure thing, you have my word."

The door shut to the bathroom, Rogue letting out the breath he had been holding. Closing his eyes, he massaged the temples of his head with his fingers. This whole thing was one big headache. They were supposed to be united to compete in the games, yet the guild was at war with themselves and each other. Sting blowing a hole through Jiemma after the guy 'stole' Lectors life, Minerva holding the exceed captive and only willing to hand him over if they win the games, the secrecy of having the newly appointed guild master on the team.

To put it lightly, Sabertooth was a _fucking mess_.

Standing to his feet Rogue made his way outside towards the balcony, pulling the door to behind him. Moving towards the guard rail, he propped himself against it as he overlooked the city. The whole of Crocus silent, everyone already had retreated to their homes. Mercurius the only thing lit up, the bright lights of the palace giving off a glow, seeming to illuminate the whole city.

"Beautiful isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is." Rogue nodded in agreement.

Wait, _what_.

The dragon slayer blinked, he was almost certain he wasn't talking to himself, the voice didn't sound like him. Turning around he was met with the grinning face of Natsu Dragneel. "You… What are you doing here?!" Rogue questioned, stance shifting into a more defensive one. He wasn't looking to play around, last time the fire dragon slayer visited their inn, he destroyed half of it.

"Can you keep it down." Natsu ground out in a hushed voice. He held his hands up, waving them about animatedly, "I'm not here to fight. Surprising, I know."

"You don't say." Rogue mumbled, standing up straight. "So what do you want?"

"I need you to come with me."

Rogue frowned and before he knew it the Fairy Tail mage was dragging him towards the guard rail. This idiot wasn't thinking about throwing them both from the balcony, was he? Shadowing out of Natsu's grasp, the dragon slayer glared at his opponent from the tag battle. "The last thing I want to do right now is go with you," Rogue scoffed, straightening out the high collar of his cloak.

He then noticed Natsu's face suddenly turn, dropping the playful grin he always constantly had splayed on his face.

"But I need your help."

The Sabertooth mage raised a brow, "Why me?"

"Just…" Natsu huffed, stomping over to the dragon slayer and grabbing his arm. "I can't explain it here, but I need your help specifically." The salmon-haired man levelled the others with a matching glare, displaying his seriousness. He wasn't playing around no more, this was important.

Closing his eyes Rogue let out a sigh, "Fine, lead the way."

The grin soon returned leading Rogue to wonder if he had just been fooled. He mentally prayed to come out of whatever this was alive. Natsu was stupid in some sense, but he wasn't lacking a brain. The dragon slayer had some method to the madness he created, and it lead the Sabertooth mage to feel he had just been dragged into a wild goose chase, or whatever crazy scheme this man had planned.

"Awesome!"

* * *

Gray paced the length of the room, looking back at the clock every other second, patience slowly wearing thin. They had sent Natsu to get Rogue twenty minutes ago, and he hadn't returned. _Why is he taking so long. I swear if that idiot has stopped for food, I will kill him._ Gajeel was slouched in the chair placed in the corner of the room with Lily perched on the arm asleep, also waiting for the dragon slayer.

Wendy was sitting on the bed with Ryō, the two happily colouring away. The sky dragon slayer had asked Bisca if she could loan a colouring book and crayons. _Because sometimes it's just nice to colour!_ she had told the woman. In reality, she didn't mind colouring but she didn't want Ryō to sit there bored, and with nothing to do.

Happy and Carla sat on the bed opposite them, the blue cat gnawing on a fish whilst the other sat there patiently, watching Wendy and the young boy.

"Where are they—" the ice mage grumbled out, only to halt mid sentence as he heard voices outside the window. Raising a brow he walked over, opening it. Two hands gripped the windowsill before the face of the shadow dragon slayer popped up. "Ah, you're finally here." The Sabertooth mage grumbled out something he didn't quite hear, probably cursing them all out for dragging him here.

Gray helped him through, the dragon slayer kneeling on the floor, catching his breath. Natsu had dragged him, going at a full speed sprint to Fairy Tail's inn.

"Thanks for coming all this way, sorry we dragged you out at this time of the night."

Rogue waved his hand, shaking his head. "It's… It's nothi—" The dragon slayer let out a wail as Natsu fell on top of him, the two ending up sprawled out on the floor.

"Can you not kill the punk, flame brain. We need his help." Gajeel grunted, glaring at the two men.

Natsu rolled off of Rogue, "Uh, thanks for breaking my fall, buddy." he laughed uncomfortably, patting the dark-haired dragon slayer on the shoulder, gaining a groan in reply.

Wendy stood from the bed moving over towards Rogue, kneeling down to help him sit up. "Sorry about that, are you okay?" she asked.

The Sabertooth mage glared at her, only to feel bad when she retreated back slightly. "Sorry," he mumbled. _Way to be an asshole, Rogue._ "Yeah, I think I'm—" he was cut off with the young dragon slayer holding her glowing palms by him, healing him. Rogue felt the now throbbing pain in his back — thanks, Natsu — slowly disappear. Gone was the pain from hitting the wall, along with Natsu making it worse. "Thank you," he smiled.

Wendy's hands dropped, shooting the dragon slayer a smile in return.

"Can we just hurry up and get this over with, I wanna go sleep." Gajeel huffed, patience wearing thin. He let them be friendly, but now they were just taking their damned time!

"You!" Rogue stood to his feet, stepping closer towards the iron dragon slayer. "Where did you go, I was suppose to fight you!" he glared, only to earn the same look from Gajeel.

"If you didn't see, it was Salamander's fault, not mine. But if you wanna fight then I'm all for beating your punk ass!"

Wendy sighed, moving towards the bed to sit down. Here we go, yet again. What was it with these guys always wanting to fight? She glanced over at Gray who rolled his eyes, propped up against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest — which was now bare. In fact, he was only down to his boxers. When did he strip? The young woman was almost sure that Gray was a magician in his spare time. Natsu was looking on intently at the soon-to-be fight between the two men. She was surprised to see he didn't have popcorn in his hands, as he looked on in excitement.

The sky dragon slayer then glanced at Ryō, who was paused in mid-colouring, eyes wide as he stared over at Rogue, mouth agape slightly. He looked to be in awe, ruby coloured eyes glistening as he stared at his apparent father.

"Can you two knock it off!" Gray shouted, hoping to calm the bickering men.

"Besides you owe me a new headband, pay up you asshole!"

"It's just like a usual night at the guild, isn't it?" Carla drawled, cheek propped up by her paw as she watched the argument.

Wendy winced, knowing that if Lucy was here she would have drop kicked Gajeel for using such language in front of Ryō.

"I don't owe you anything!"

The ice mage scowled, bashing the two dragon slayers on the head. "I said knock it off! We have a much more important matter than you two fighting and buying headbands!" he snapped, shooting the two dark-haired men a glare. Gray earned death glares of his own, rolling his eyes. Why does it seem like all of the dragon slayers are immature? Barring Wendy, she was the most sane and mature one out of all six of them. Even Laxus was immature at times, let's not forget about his little temper tantrum when he pitted the whole of Fairy Tail against one another.

"Oh, right! You're probably wondering why you're here." Natsu spoke, moving towards the beds. Rogue nodded. "Well, we were…out. Exploring. But we also found something, well… someone." the fire dragon slayer added, gesturing to the boy sitting next to Wendy.

The room fell silent, the four Fairy Tail mages glancing between their guests.

Ryō blinked, his heart quickening as he locked eyes with the past version of his father. It was amazing to see what his dad was like before he was born, to see how time had changed him. Rogue hadn't changed all that much, minus the scar across the bridge of his nose missing, but other then that he was still the same. Or the same of what Ryō liked to selectively remember about his dad. The times that both of his parents were in his life.

He still had that same passive, somewhat blank look; a look what made you unsure of what he was thinking or about to do. Ryō remembered surprising his father by jumping on him in hopes to scare him, only to receive that look before it was replaced with a smile. Those were the best days, how things _used_ to be. Now his father wore a constant frown, he always looked angry. That and the drastic change in hair, it was a contrast to what he had seen his father's hair like. Instead of long, tied back and being mostly white — barring the small tuft of black what covered his missing eye — in colour, it was black. Just like his own.

This _was_ his father.

Part of Ryō wanted nothing more then to run to his father, in hopes that the man would welcome him with open arms. But he couldn't, to this version of his father, Ryō didn't exist, not yet.

"You found a child?" Rogue questioned, brow raised as he glanced at Natsu. The fire dragon slayer rubbed the nape of his neck, chuckling.

"His name is Ryō." the salmon-haired man spoke.

"The thing is," Gray started, gaining Rogue's attention. "This boy— Ryō, his magic energy is similar to yours—"

"He smells like you too."

The ice mage shot Gajeel a glare before turning back to the Sabertooth mage, "Well, yeah. That and he, well… I hope I don't have to point out the obvious." he shrugged, hoping that Rogue noted that the young boy looked eerily like him.

"You say you found the kid? Where are his parents?"

Gray overheard Gajeel snort, mumbling something under his breath. _Right here, asshole._ Yet with the silence of the dragon slayer he suspected he didn't hear it, surprisingly. Either that or he chose to ignore it.

"We're looking for them." Wendy answered, feeling somewhat awkward that she had to say that. His father was right here, but she couldn't weird him out.

Rogue simply nodded, not questioning any further. His eyes shifted back to the young boy sitting beside Wendy, and he felt uncomfortable. He knew what the obvious the ice mage was referring to, he would have been stupid not to acknowledge it. He looked just like him when he was younger. But he didn't want to believe what his mind was jumping to, heck he didn't even know what his mind was jumping to. All he knew was that this kid looked like him and it was terrifying.

Why did he agree to this? He should have just went to bed.

"Uh, this may be hard to believe— trust me, we thought it was too! But we think this is your son."

Well, fuck.

Rogue blinked, "I'm sorry, what?" Surely his ears and good hearing were deceiving him, because it sounded like Gray had told him that this boy was his child.

"Ryō is your child." Natsu repeated, pulling out the photograph Ryō had shown him earlier, holding it out for Rogue to look at.

The Sabertooth mage paled, his eyes widening as he looked at the photo. His hand lifting to take it from Natsu, observing it further. Well it was definitely him and the boy in the photo but wait, was that..? He inhaled sharply at the woman in the photograph, recognising her clear as day. The woman who kept him company earlier, Kagura Mikazuchi.

"Does that convince you?" Gajeel questioned.

Rogue shook his head, hoping that this was some weird dream. That Natsu hadn't dragged him to the inn, that he hadn't looked at Ryō, and that he hadn't taken a look at the photo. This had to be some type of hallucination magic, this was too weird to be real. "That's… uh, isn't that…" his words kept dying out, his mind unable to put together actual sentences.

"Yeah, that's Kagura. Ryō's mother."

The shadow dragon slayer gulped. So what they were saying was that he and her had a child, a son, and he was apparently sitting in front of him. How. How had they managed to create him when the two hadn't even… They weren't even friends! Yet alone lovers.

"But how? I'm nineteen, there is no way I fathered a son, especially with how old he looks."

"We think that he isn't from here. From here being that he isn't from our time." Wendy coughed. Gosh, this was one big mess. She understood why Rogue was apprehensive in believing what he was being told, it wasn't everyday you get told that your son is here, even when he hadn't been born in this time. "The thing is we don't know why he's here, but he came with someone else. They, well uh, she… She looks like Lucy."

"From our time?" Rogue pulled a face, brows furrowing. "What are you trying to say? You telling me that this kid is from another time period?" he questioned, voice raising an octave as he glanced at the four Fairy Tail mages.

Their expressions were serious, none of them laughing at his expense. Had he sussed it out that easily?

Rogue ran a hand through his hair, eyes shifting back to Ryō who shot him a smile. A tight-lipped smile but a smile nonetheless, making Rogue's stomach stir. _Oh god, this is real._

"Look, Rogue. I know this is awfully hard to take in, but we need your help and—" _Thud._ Gray looked up to see the dragon slayer no longer standing, instead passed out on the floor. Why did he not see this coming. "Shit, Wendy! Help."

* * *

Lucy glanced up at the building in front of her, mentally preparing herself for what she had to do.

Jellal had been kind enough to help her out in seeking out Kagura, asking around the whereabouts the inn what Mermaid Heel was residing in during the Games. He had left her only a few moments ago, telling her that he would look for Ryō whilst she dealt with his mother.

He assumed that the kid would have the same dark power surrounding him as it did with Lucy.

Walking into the lobby, she scanned around for anyone familiar, hoping that possibly the Mermaid ace was lounging around downstairs. Yet to no avail, she was nowhere to be seen. Conveniently she spotted a woman with cat ears and a cloak.

Millianna.

The blonde took a deep breath, hoping to calm her nerves before walking over to the brunette. "Excuse me—"

"Oh, hi. Wait, aren't you the girl from Fairy Tail? I think I've met you before, you're Erzy's friend right?" the cat woman blinked, finger tapping her chin in thought, trying to remember the woman's name.

"Lucy."

Millianna snapped her fingers, "Lucy! So what brings you here? How are you doing by the way? That battle was pretty harsh."

Battle? Oh, right. The Naval battle. Playing along, Lucy nodded. "Yeah, it was. I'm okay now. I was wondering if I could see Kagura."

"Kagura?" the brunette tilted her head. She blinked several times, seeming to space out before shooting the blonde a grin. "Sure! I'll go fetch her, wait here."

The Mermaid Heel mage raced off down the hall, disappearing from her sight. Lucy let out a sigh of relief, glad that it had gone smoothly. Well, for now. The hard part hadn't come yet, she knew that talking to Kagura was going to be daunting for her, remembering how the swords-woman used to be during the Games.

It wasn't until after the games she started to mellow out, but even then she was still somewhat stiff and uptight. Until _he_ came along.

Lucy shifted her weight on her feet, hand gripping the fabric of the cloak. Her mind wandered to Ryō and where he was right now. Was he safe? Who was he with? She hoped that he wasn't getting into too much trouble. Ryō wasn't a child who went looking to make trouble. He was a quiet child, just like his parents. But she knew it was only a matter of time before he slowly started acting out.

Then again, he had every right to do so.

"Lucy?"

The blonde lifted her head to see Kagura standing before her, brow raised as she looked at the celestial mage. Her mouth opened a fraction, yet the words died out at the sight of the Mermaid Heel mage. Eyes clouding with tears what threatened to spill. It felt surreal to see her, granted she had seen her fight earlier against Lyon and Yuka, handling the two men on her own. She had always been someone Lucy admired, from her strength to her unwavering love and warmth Lucy was lucky enough to receive. Only a selected few got to see that side of the woman who often appeared stoic and cold-hearted.

It had been awhile since she had seen her, just over a year to be precise. A year before her life was taken away by her own husband.

Blinking she shot her a small smile, "Hi, I was hoping we could talk."

Kagura nodded, somewhat curious to what the Fairy Tail mage wanted. She motioned for the blonde to follow, leading her to the room she occupied. Talking in a lobby full of prying eyes and avid listeners wasn't something Kagura was too fond of. Plus she noticed that Lucy looked uncomfortable, often shifting on her feet. Closing the door behind the blonde, Kagura sat on the edge of the bed as Lucy took a seat in the chair opposite her.

Lucy glanced at the gravity mage, observing her, noting how much of a contrast this Kagura was to her Kagura.

The Kagura she had befriended had become more relaxed as time had gone by, the two forming a friendship when a programme was set in to have all the guilds work with one another more, to strengthen bonds within the guild and with others. Erza often jumped at the chance to work with Mermaid Heel, wanting to spend time with Millianna and Kagura. Lucy often tagged along on jobs with the three women, managing to form some form of relationship with the Mermaid ace with minimal conversation. However it wasn't until she started to establish a relationship with the shadow dragon slayer from Sabertooth that she started to loosen up.

Whenever she was within the proximity of Rogue a small smile was always gracing her face, lighting up her features. As cheesy as it sounds, she glowed whenever he was nearby.

Time went on, years passed. The two got married and had a child, a baby boy. They called him Ryō. Their guiding light, the missing piece to their puzzle. They were a perfect family, Lucy often found herself admiring what they had, somewhat jealous, hoping that one day she would have the look of contentment the two mages constantly had.

However after the war, things slowly went downhill.

Rogue's disappearances impacted her more than she wanted to admit. The smile Kagura used to wear now replaced with a smile which disguised her true emotions. One she couldn't allow her son to see, protecting him from the pain she was bearing alone. Lucy often visited to keep her company, and all she saw was the hurt Kagura carried around.

The pain of losing her husband, who had detached himself from her and their son. Wanting nothing more than for him to return; for him to be happy again, for her to have her husband back, for him to be in Ryō's life.

This Kagura however was reserved, her expression void of any emotion whatsoever yet Lucy found it amazing that her eyes were so expressive. Those hazel eyes told her everything, they gave her away. Lucy had known her long enough to read her, even if this was past Kagura.

The Kagura before her held a certain mystery to her, somewhat an underlying darkness. Sadness maybe? She wasn't all too certain.

Kagura glanced over at the celestial wizard, noting that she had been looking her way. Her head tilted, noting the faraway look Lucy had on her face. Clearing her throat she gained the attention of the blonde. "What was it you wanted to talk about? Apologies if I sound rude, but I don't understand what you would want from me." she asked.

A small smile tugged at the corner of Lucy's lips. _Still ever so inquisitive._

"I know. I also apologise if I have disturbed your night, time is getting on." Lucy spoke, a heavy feeling building in her chest. She needed to get her emotions in check, feeling overwhelmed to be alone with the woman across from her.

"It's fine."

The blonde nodded, letting out a small sigh. How did she even start this? Lucy knew that Kagura didn't like to beat around the bush, preferring the upfront approach. "For what I'm about to tell you, I hope that you keep and open mind. It's not easy to tell you this, and I understand that you will question so I'm willing to provide answers. But please, just know that I've come to you to ask for your assistance." Lucy explained, voice wavering.

Kagura blinked, brow arching. _Keep an open mind? Ask for your assistance?_ Just what did Lucy need her for? Surely her guild mates could help her out, neither of them had ever spoken until tonight and even that had been brief. If it wasn't for Natsu being there, Kagura was certain that the two of them would never have interacted.

"Okay."

Lucy's eyes widened in disbelief before it was replaced with a small smile. "Thank you."

* * *

 **Look's like Ryō has finally met his father! Even if he did end up fainting. Poor Rogue. And Future!Lucy finally met Kagura! What do you think Kagura's reaction will be to what Lucy is about to tell her?** **Until next time, thanks for reading.**


	11. Worlds Collide Part 2

**This chapter was the death of me. But we're finally up and running, once again. Apologies if my writing's a bit rusty, I haven't wrote for this fic in like three months.**

* * *

Pulling the door shut Jellal heaved out a sigh, having just finished meeting with Makarov. Admittedly the Heavenly Body mage had left it quite late to talk to the guild master, yet _other things_ acquired his time. Other things such as a future version of Lucy Heartfilia who looked on the constant verge of crying, as well as a missing boy who had travelled here with her. Then there was the supposed threat of someone else, the boy's father. But after embarrassing himself — no thanks to Ultear — he had requested himself to be taken off of Fairy Tail Team B fully.

Granted it had been three days since he had battled Jura Neekis from Lamia Scale and lost, he decided to simply 'spectate' as he scouted for the source of the dark magic. Cana Alberona had been his reserve, filling in for him whilst he went through with his solo task. He had been under the watchful eye of guild members Meredy and Ultear, who advised and watched him via a communication lacrima crystal, but even with that it lead him to nearly being busted by the Magic Council.

However Makarov had informed him that now there would only be one team, yet he didn't explain why. Jellal just took the answer at face value and left, knowing there was nothing more to be said.

Jellal made his way through the hallways of Fairy Tail's inn, fingers beginning to tug his scarf over his face when he felt it. That aura, the one like Lucy had. He walked further down the hall, the dark energy seeming to get stronger and stronger as he stopped outside of a door. Muffled speaking could be heard, causing Jellal to brace himself for whatever was behind it. From what he gathered with the silence when he arrived, everyone was sleeping, with the exception of Makarov. Had he been followed? _Maybe it was the man Lucy spoke of, but what would he be doing at this inn?_ He grasped the door handle and pushed it open forcefully, poised and ready to fight. Only what he saw was completely opposite to what he had imagined.

Gray was hoisting up a man off of the floor before moving him over to a bed, someone Jellal believed to be apart of the Sabertooth guild. Natsu was laughing, hands braced on his stomach as he found it hard to control himself, only to stop when Gajeel smacked him as a means to shut up. Those two were now brawling on the floor, Happy cheering Natsu on. Lily and Carla looked like they wanted no part in any of this, the two engaging in conversation with one another. Wendy sat on the bed watching all of this unfold, letting out an exasperated sigh at the guy's antics. And then there was a boy, who sat beside's the female dragon slayer. He looked to be somewhat uncomfortable with the rowdiness, yet his gaze was solely on the mage in Gray's arms.

 _Well, this was quite the party._

"Uh... I'm sorry, am I interrupting?"

"Oh Jel—" Smack. "I erm, I mean Mystogan. What's up?" Natsu asked, shooting the man a grin as he was held in a headlock by Gajeel.

Part of Jellal felt like walking back out, closing the door and leaving. He was too sane for their madness. Yet he didn't. _He couldn't._ Not when he promised Lucy that he would help find this boy, and with the aura he could feel in the room, he had found him. Jellal shut the door, making sure to lock it. He didn't need anyone walking in on the conversation he was about to have, granted this situation was quite 'out there' and unbelievable. However, Jellal had been proven that nothing was impossible, not even time travel. "Hey," he greeted him back before glancing at Gray and Wendy sending them a nod of recognicion. Wendy gave him a small wave in return causing the Crime Sorciere mage to smile, only for it to disappear when his eyes landed on the young boy.

Gray looked between Jellal and Ryō, taking note on how the fugitive was looking at the boy. "We found him—"

"Let me guess, he came through a gate with someone called Lucy." Jellal cut him off. Gajeel dropped Natsu on the floor as everyone looked at him in shock.

Natsu blinked several times, "How do you...?"

"I met Lucy, she had told me how the boy she had travelled with had gone missing, and I'm guessing that child is you?" Jellal questioned as he stepped closer to Ryō, kneeling down. "You're Ryō, aren't you?" The raven haired boy glanced at Gray, who gave him a small nod to show that he could trust this stranger before glancing back at the man in front of him, nodding in reply. Noting the boy's apprehension towards him, Jellal removed his hat and lowered his scarf further, shooting the boy a small, friendly smile. "Lucy told me about you, she's been looking all over for you."

Ryō's shoulders slumped as his eyes cast downward, feeling guilty for causing Lu to panic over his whereabouts. "I... I didn't mean to make Lu upset, I just wanted to find my parents." he mumbled.

Jellal let out an amused _hmph_ , "It's okay, she asked me to help look for you. Now I know that you're somewhere safe I can inform her on your whereabouts."

"Do you know where she is?" Ryō asked.

"From what she told me, she went to speak with your mother."

Everyone in the room stiffened, with the exception of Rogue who was still passed out on the bed. "She's gone to find Kagura?" Wendy squeaked out. From what she recalled from the small interaction with the Mermaid Heel ace, she appeared to be rather straightforward, coming off rather stoic. She looked like she stood for no nonsense, the other Lucy was going to have a hard time trying to convince the woman that her child from the future had travelled back in time. Let's pray Kagura has a sense of humour.

The heavenly body mage raised a brow, confused on how they knew who the boy's mother was. "Yes, she has. How do you know who his mother is?" he asked.

"The runt has a photograph with him," Gajeel answered, earning a glare from Ryō. "It's of him and his parents, Kagura's in the picture."

Jellal nodded, standing up. "I see, and his father? Do you know who he is?" The Fairy Tail mages and Ryō glanced over at the unconscious mage laying on the bed, leading the fugitive to put two and two together. _Of course, Lucy did say something about his father about being a dragon slayer._ Jellal also recalled the man was one half of the Twin Dragon's of Sabertooth. It made sense, especially when you looked at Ryō, he resembled his father greatly. "I'm guessing you told him he has a son..?"

"Yeah," Natsu chuckled sheepishly whilst rubbing the nape of his neck. "Can you tell it went well?"

The Crime Scorciere mage let out a burst of laughter, shaking his head in amusement. "I'll find Lucy and bring her back here," he spoke. He made his way to the door, opening it but looking back at the group of mages, "Just make sure you don't lose the kid, okay?" Jellal smirked.

"Got it." Gray nodded.

* * *

Kagura sat forward, elbows propped up on her thighs as her hands were clasped, covering her mouth. It was the only way she was able to keep quiet with the story Lucy had come out with. _Keep an open mind_ , the blonde had requested of her. She attempted to refrain from saying anything until she was finished, out of respect, however as the story went on, she was finding it rather hard to bite her tongue and keep quiet until Lucy was done.

"I know this may be hard to believe, but I come from a different time. I am the same Lucy Heartfilia, but I'm from the future, seven years into the future to be exact. I arrived here by the Eclipse Gate, but I didn't travel alone. I came through the gate with a young boy called Ryō, he's only six years old. He's a wonderful boy, such a happy child. Until... Until everything started falling apart." Lucy bit her lip, voice wavering. "We had just started recovering, rebuilding our lives again when they struck the whole of Fiore. Thing's got bad, to the point where Ryō ended up losing both of his parents." She couldn't do it, she couldn't bring herself to tell the gravity mage that she died. _How did you tell someone they died and that you witnessed it happen right in front of you?_ But she had to, in some way she would have to let Kagura know of her fate if the world is to fall into ruin.

"When I said that Ryō had lost both parents, only half of that is true. In a sense, he has lost both, but one still lives. His father. However his father... He has been consumed by darkness, he's no longer the man he once was. He's after Ryō for his own selfish reasons. I have no doubts that he'll come after his son." The blonde blinked the tears away, mentally chiding herself for getting worked up. But she couldn't help it, she had held it in for so long — for the sake of Ryō, she never dared to cry in front of him. Lucy needed to be strong, for his sake, even though he kept it bottled inside she always made him aware that she was here, and that he could always turn to her. Lucy went to wipe her tears away with the back of her hand when Kagura held out a box of tissues for her. Taking one she thanked the woman. "I was asked by his mother to keep him safe, so I did. That's when I came up with a plan, it was a shot in the dark but it's paid off for me at the moment, but I know I'm on borrowed time."

She had listened, as she was requested to do so. Kagura had questions from the get go. _An Eclipse Gate? That's how this 'version' of Lucy had managed to get here, and not only had she travelled back in time, but did so with a child?_

"I'm sorry to interrupt you—"

"No, it's fine. Do you have a question?" Lucy asked.

 _Several_ , yet Kagura restrained herself from letting that slip. "Earlier you said _'they struck the whole of Fiore'_ who are they?"

"The ten thousand dragons." The blonde mumbled, causing the Mermaid Heel mage's eyes to widen in disbelief. "If the gate doesn't get destroyed it leaves it vulnerable to usage, leaving it free to have Ryō's father open it in the future, letting the dragon's bring destruction to the whole of Fiore. He can't be allowed to do that. That's why I need your help..."

"Me?" Kagura gestured to herself, eyebrow raised in curiosity. Her mind was in overdrive, trying to process all that Lucy had told her. Time travel, some child who got dealt an unfortunate hand of fate, his dad had gone rogue, endangered future, a gate of some kind, and a clusterfuck of dragons. _Well, the future certainly is... colourful._ "Why do you need my help?"

Lucy's hand gripped the fabric of her cloak, shifting in her seat. This is the part she was dreading. "Uh... His parents. I never told you who Ryō's parents are." The blonde inhaled deeply, teeth biting into her bottom lip. She could already feel the tears building again. _She felt it._ She felt the rejection coming, and she didn't know what else to do other than cry. Kagura's gaze was intimidating; harsh and scrutinising. "You're his mother."

Hazel eyes widened as the blonde spoke those words. The Mermaid Heel mage felt like the whole world had come at a standstill. _I'm the boy's mother? She had said that he had lost both parents, so that must mean—_ She felt sick. Her hand shot up to cover her mouth, muffling whimpering sound what died in the back of her throat. _I died._ Her stomach churned, and all of a sudden the room felt like all of the air had been removed. "I... I know this is a lot to take in but—" Kagura held up her hand, as a means to silence her. The blonde complied, sinking further into her seat.

The swordswoman got up from the bed to open the window, she needed fresh air. She needed this to not be true. This had to be a joke, right? But she wouldn't lie about something like this. If she came from the future, why would she lie? _But why wouldn't she?_ A voice asked, echoing in her mind. Kagura froze up at the sound of the voice. They sounded vaguely familiar, like she had heard that voice somewhere before. "What—" _Did you forget that she's a mage of Fairy Tail? The same guild what allowed a wanted criminal, an escaped convict to partake in the Grand Magic Games, the same man who is responsible for your brother's death?_ But Natsu— _But nothing,_ the voice hissed in reply of her defence. _T_ _he guild is harbouring a murderer. Fairy Tail is nothing but scum for doing so. Don't trust them._

"Kagura, please, you have to believe me. I don't know who else to—"

"Get out."

Lucy blinked, taken aback by the sternness in her voice. "But I..." She felt her hopes crashing head first. " Kagura please, you have to believe me. I don't know who else to—"

"I don't like repeating myself," Kagura gritted out, glancing over her shoulder. "Leave."

A sob caught in the back of the blonde's throat as she stood, tears spilling down her cheeks as she made her way towards the door. "I'm sorry. I'm just so sorry." Lucy apologised before leaving.

Hearing the door close Kagura let out an exasperated sigh, fingers lifting to rub her temples. Part of her regretted talking to Lucy in such a way. She hardly knew the woman yes, but the blonde had never wronged her or did something bad for Kagura not to trust her. But that voice... It told her not to trust Lucy, and the whole Fairy Tail guild. She didn't even know where the voice came from, all it did was give her an impending headache. Quite honestly she found it unsettling how the voice seemed to know so much about her and her secrets she kept hidden from everyone else. Shaking her head, hoping to free herself from the thoughts that were clouding her mind, Kagura glanced at the time.

It was well past one in the morning. She had hoped to wake up at dawn to get some lone training in before the other girls woke up, yet that plan have seemed to fallen through.

Letting out a disgruntled sound Kagura made her way to the en suite bathroom to get ready for bed, only to feel herself step on something. Lifting her foot the mage glanced down to see a small, red book. Raising a brow in curiosity she bent down and picked it up, observing the item in her hands. It certainly wasn't hers. It was well worn, yet still in good condition, no pages were hanging out but the cover had seen better days. Lucy must have dropped it before she left. It looked personal, perhaps a diary of some sorts.

Kagura stared at the book in her hands, teeth biting into her bottom lip. Part of her wanted nothing more than to open it, read what was inside it. Perhaps it would show her something, anything to tell her that Lucy had been telling the truth from the beginning, that the voice was wrong. Yet the other half told her it was wrong. _You don't like your personal space invaded, so back off._ Deciding to listen to herself, she placed it down on the dresser before carrying on towards the bathroom. Bed was calling, and after today's events she needed to sleep it off.

* * *

Lucy sat by the fountain, attempting to calm the sobs that were racking through her body. She had failed. Failed to convince Kagura to help her. She knew that it was going to be difficult, but she didn't expect the gravity mage to completely shun her and tell her to leave. But Lucy understood, she understood that hearing all of this was overwhelming. Lucy knew that Kagura wasn't stupid, that she had to have put the pieces together. She could tell by the gravity mage's face that she had figured out it was herself who died in the future. _Maybe she just needed time?_ But Lucy didn't have time.

"Lucy?" The blonde looked up to see Jellal standing in front of her. "What are you doing out here? There are guards patrolling the city, they'll catch you."

"Hmm? Oh, sorry. I just—"

"Did you speak with Kagura?" he asked.

Jellal watched as her eyes cast to the side, her teeth worrying her bottom lip. "I don't want to talk about it right now." Lucy answered, voice barely about a whisper.

The heavenly body mage frowned, assuming that her meeting with Ryō's mother didn't go as planned. "I'm sorry to hear that, but I have some good news." The blonde looked up with glossy eyes. "I've found Ryō."

* * *

 **Shout out to unconscious Rogue, and to Gray for heaving up his heavy ass. Divine voices in your head, eh Kagura? [wink, wonk] Poor Future!Lucy, at least she'll be reunited with Ryō.**

 **Welp, it's back to the planning board with me. I've finally exhausted my planning notes. Time to plan further. Only problem is, you know when you plan how it goes in your head but when you go to write it down, it doesn't wanna work out? Yeah, that's me right now.**


	12. Reunion

**It's been one hundred years! Kidding, but seriously it has been awhile but we're here now! It has been a struggle and a half, but I finally managed to finish a chapter.**

* * *

Sting let out a sigh, coming at a standstill in the lounge of the inn Sabertooth were staying in.

He had spent a good three hours looking for Rogue, since he hadn't seen him since the two talked before he went for a shower. Frosch had woken up by the time he had come out of the bathroom and asked where Rogue was, of course not wanting to worry the exceed Sting lied. The blonde didn't want to lie, but Frosch would have just cried until Rogue returned, and quite frankly Sting was already emotionally drained and he didn't want to deal with that. Plus lying didn't do much as Frosch still looked worried, as Rogue wasn't around, but it was better than telling them the truth that he had no clue where his friend had gone either.

So once the exceed had gone back to sleep, Sting snuck out of the room and went off to search for his friend. But to no avail, Rogue couldn't be found. He couldn't even smell or trace his magic energy anywhere near, it's like he had disappeared off of the face of the earth.

Rogue was never one to keep anything from Sting, if anything needed to be said then he'd say so. He was very black and white about everything. Yet all of a sudden he keeps disappearing, twice in one night in fact.

Not only that but Rogue could be out any longer, as the GMG's had a policy that everyone who participates in the Games must return to their lodgings by ten at night. So he had to be somewhere, the only question is where? Sting didn't believe Rogue had any other friends in the competition, as he normally kept to himself. Admittedly, he knew that Rogue's only friend was him and Frosch.

Spotting Rufus in the corner of the room sitting on the couch reading, Sting approached him. "Hey, Rufus."

The memory make mage looked up from his book, "Sting," he greeted his guild mate, well, the newly appointed guild master. Rufus looked at the blonde intently, head tilting as he noted the troubled look on his face. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"It's Rogue, I can't find him."

"He's missing?" Sting nodded in reply. Rufus was surprised, as it was rare that the two were rarely apart. Most of the time, where you found Sting, you often found Rogue. "I'm sorry but I am of no use, I haven't seen him since the guild meeting earlier."

Sting sighed, "Thanks." Running a hand through his hair, the dragon slayer dragged his feet down the corridor, making his way to his shared room. Closing the door behind him, he made his way to the bed Frosch occupied. Sitting down he lifted his hand to stroke the exceed gently, Frosch purring before curling up into a ball. The blonde smiling, only for a brief second before his mind trailed back to the whereabouts of his best friend.

 _Where are you, Rogue?_

* * *

"Lu!" The young boy exclaimed when the blonde walked into the room, instantly jumping off of the bed and running towards her before being enveloped into a hug.

Lucy held onto the boy tightly, a relieved sigh falling from her lips. "I'm so glad you're safe."

Ryō pulled away, eyes glossy with tears as he stared up at his guardian. "I'm sorry for running away but d-dad… I wanted to see him so badly," he rambled, fumbling over his words. "But then Natsu and Wendy…and then…I just got lost and I-I," he was cut off by the blonde hushing him softly, soothing him from his hysterics.

The four Fairy Tail wizards watched on as the two reunited with one another, warmed at the moment between the two yet in awe at the fact that standing before them was Lucy.

But not _their_ Lucy, Ryō's Lucy or Lu, as he liked to call her.

"It's okay, you're okay," Lucy continued, pulling away far enough to cradle his cheek in her hand. She noted the frown he wore, eyebrows furrowed which reminded her too much of the expression his father would sometimes pull. Speaking of his father, Lucy glanced over Ryō's shoulder to see the Sabertooth mage on the bed, assuming that he was asleep. She'd ask about that after, but right now… "No more running away, do you hear me?" the blonde spoke weakly, almost as if she was begging him.

"Yes, Lu."

Shooting him another smile, she pulled the young boy in for another quick hug before standing, her eyes averting to the four mages who had been standing quietly observing her and Ryō.

Her teeth bit into her bottom lip as she looked at the four people she had loved and lost back in her time, people she never thought she'd have the opportunity to see ever again. It felt surreal, Lucy knew using the Eclipse Gate to come back to the past would mean that she'd had to see everyone again, she just didn't bank on it affecting her this much. Brown eyes brimming with tears threatening to fall, she glanced down before sniffling. "I'm sorry, this is a little overbearing seeing you all." She choked out, her voice wavering.

Ryō glanced up at Lucy, noticing how upset his guardian looked before taking a hold of her hand, she squeezed lightly in return of his comforting gesture.

"It's okay, take your time." Gray smiled reassuringly at who appeared to be a later version of Lucy. However his efforts to comfort her had seemed to have set the waterworks off, the blonde now fighting back a sob.

"Nice going, idiot," Natsu grumbled, glaring at the ice mage.

Gray shot him a glare back before stepping forward carefully, like a predator stalking its prey, hoping to not startle it. He didn't want to cause her any more distress, as she looked like she had been through enough as it is along with Ryō running off from her. "I'm sorry, I know this must be hard for you—" he paused abruptly, dark eyes widened as Lucy's hand shot out to grab his.

Lucy inhaled sharply, eyes closing shut as she familiarised herself with the feel of his hand against her own. She had to, needed to convince herself that this wasn't a dream, that he was standing right in front of her. Granted she hadn't come here for herself, but for Ryō, however she couldn't pass up the opportunity to be close to Gray one last time, even if it did hurt her and remind Lucy that he was gone in her time. His hands were cool to the touch, as they always had been.

Even if it was for these brief few seconds, it wiped away her doubts and took her to a safe haven. Yet as usual, even though this was his past self, she found his touch to be comforting. "It's real… You're real." she mumbled.

"Huh?"

The blonde blinked, eyes glancing down at her and Gray's joined hands. Her cheeks grew a colourful shade of pink as she let go of his hand instantly, "Sorry, I just…"

Gray shrugged off her apology, a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips, "It's fine, no worries."

Lucy averted her gaze downwards, only to meet Ryō's curious eyes. She shook her head, it's nothing, as if a means to silently tell him to dismiss whatever he saw.

Gajeel let out a grunting sound, prompting everyone to look at him. "So you're the one who brought the little runt," he paused, shooting a glare at Ryō, "Here through the gate?" he questioned.

"Yes, that would be me." Lucy nodded, only to frown at the iron dragon slayer. "But I would appreciate it if you called Ryō by his name."

The iron dragon slayer snorted amusedly, "Oh yeah, that's blondie alright."

Wendy blinked, mind trying to register what exactly had just happened. The supposed Lucy from the future had taken a hold of Gray's hand, almost as a means to comfort herself. If Juvia had of seen that she would have thrown a fit, she could hear the annoying yells of 'love rival' ringing in her ears already. However part of her felt like there was more to it than what they had seen. Nobody knew what future Lucy had been through, or experienced. Deciding it wasn't best to question the future, Wendy shrugged it off, stepping towards Gray and Lucy. "You look tired, why don't you rest?" the dragon slayer suggested.

Lucy shook her head, "Oh, I can't. I need to talk to Rogue and—"

"You've most likely been running around after Ryō all night. Have a rest, even if it is only for a few hours. Besides I don't think he'll be waking up any time soon," Gray spoke, glancing over his shoulder at the shadow dragon slayer before looking back at Lucy.

The blonde was about to protest, but the concerned looks Wendy and Gray were giving her stopped her from doing so. Letting out a sigh, Lucy nodded.

"Okay."

* * *

Rogue grumbled incoherently as sunlight streamed through the thin curtains, rousing the dragon slayer from his slumber, the mage attempting to bury his face further into the pillows to block out the harsh rays. Along with being rudely awoken by the sun, the Sabertooth mage could feel a dull throbbing at the back of his head. Whatever he had gotten up to last night must have been somewhat wild for him to be feeling this way.

Deciding to try and sleep this feeling away, Rogue shifted his body into a more comfortable position before settling down—

"Woah... Can you show me that again!?" A voice all-too-hyper-for-mornings exclaimed excitedly, as if they were in awe of something. You'd have thought it was Christmas morning with the way they were shouting.

So much for going back to sleep.

"Ryō, quite down. Your fath— _Rogue_ , is sleeping." Another voice scolded.

Neither of those voices sounded like Sting or Frosch. Eyes slowly blinking open, Rogue glanced around the room only to realise how different it was to Sabertooth's inn. No elaborate curtains, no purple or fancy brick walls, and by the feel of it no plush mattress. What in the— Sitting up a little too fast, Rogue's eyes slowly focused on the three people sitting in the corner of the room.

Gray Fullbuster and who he believed to be Lucy Heartfilia, from Fairy Tail alongside a young, dark haired boy. Ryō. His son, apparently. The ice mage crafting animals out of ice as the young boy watched on in fascination, the blonde smiling at the two interacting.

It was at that moment last nights events came back to him, which made Rogue wish that it was nothing but a dream.

Well, a nightmare.

From losing his match earlier, to Jiemma getting a hole blasted in his chest by Sting along with Lector held captive. Minerva then crowning Sting as the new guild master, only to put a stipulation in place that they had to win the Games just so Lector would be returned safely. Then he had Kagura giving him pitiful looks for having his ass handed to him by Jiemma, only then to be told that in the future he has a son with the Mermaid Heel ace. Out of all the years he had been participating in the Games, yesterday was one of the wildest trips he had ever been on, and no alcohol or drugs were involved.

Rogue could feel the impending headache causing him to let out a small groan, only to have the blonde's gaze to turn to him. "Oh, good morning." she greeted him with a smile. Gray and Ryō then turned their attention towards the dragon slayer causing him to feel self conscious. A few seconds passed in silence, as Rogue simply stared at them. _Say hi back, idiot._ "Uh, hey." Rogue stood from the bed, his footsteps slowly moving him towards the trio before stopping, kneeling down across from Ryō, the ice mage to the right of them.

Lucy sat in the chair on the left, observing them, watching Gray entertain the child. It had been a few hours since she had been reunited with her charge, having taken a short nap before waking up. Natsu, Gajeel and Wendy weren't there when she woke up, only Gray and Ryō. The ice mage told her that the three had gone to sleep in Gajeel's room, as he had a spare bed.

"Have a nice nap?" Gray asked dryly, earning a look from Rogue which caused the ice mage to smirk.

The dragon slayer resisted replying with a snarky comment, it wasn't worth it neither was it a reasonable enough time of day to be functioning properly. He wasn't sure what time it was, all he knew was that it was too early to be awake. "Where are the others?" he asked.

"Sleeping. Since we took this room, they had to sleep in Gajeel's room." the ice mage replied.

"Oh, right."

Silence fell amongst the group again, well apart from Ryō and Gray. The Fairy Tail mage explaining his maker magic after the boy had asked him about it. Rogue and Lucy watched as Ryō listened intently, his eyes seeming to light up and hang onto every word the ice mage was saying.

"He's a good listener," Rogue commented.

"He got that from you and…" The blonde paused, a forlorn look appearing on her face, brown eyes casting downwards. "You and Kagura." her voice growing quieter when she mentioned the Mermaid Heel ace.

The dragon slayer didn't know what to make of it; both her expression and what she had said. He got that from you and Kagura. _You and Kagura._ _Me._ He had almost forgot that Kagura was the mother to his child, almost. That was still unbelievable in of itself, how him and the gravity mage somewhere in the future had gotten to the stage of… _that_ , to produce a child.

Staring at the boy, his son, he noticed the white cloth which peered through his hair, covering a good portion of his forehead. He had a suspicion of whose exactly it was, yet he'd ask Ryō for confirmation later. Admittedly, what they had produced was an awfully cute kid. _Don't let any of them hear you say that, they'll think you're comfortable with this._ Which in fact, Rogue wasn't. The fact that a boy, _his child_ , had apparently travelled back to their version of the past, which is this present time, with Lucy for reasons unknown. Speaking of Lucy. "I assume you're the one who travelled with Ryō..?" Rogue questioned, glancing up at the blonde sitting in the armchair.

"Correct."

"And how exactly did you get here? Back in time, that is?"

"The Eclipse Gate," Lucy answered. Noticing his confused expression, she continued. "It's a gate, it allows you to travel through time during a solar or lunar eclipse."

Rogue frowned, "Such a thing exists?" He was sceptical, unsure whether or not to believe her words. A gate what allows you to travel through time? Sure anything was possible, especially in a world of magic. In a world where humans were able to wield the power of dragons, so such a thing as time travel be possible?

"It's true. I've seen the gate." Gray added. Both the blonde and the dragon slayer glanced at the Fairy Tail mage. "When Ryō found us underground we were lead to it, it exists." the mage nodded before looking at Ryō, who nodded in agreement of his statement.

"And how does the gate function?"

"The gate requires a lot of magical energy, near enough the same amount to power an etherion blast. It's opened and closed by the twelve Zodiac keys, however due to one of the keys missing the gate was never shut. It was free for anyone to use..." Lucy trailed off. Missing... In her time, Libra and Pisces's key was missing, along with Ophiuchus and the owner of those keys. "However the gate can be closed another way, but being the only Celestial wizard I couldn't do it, not with Ryō in my care." she added, glancing at the young boy. As much as the gate should have been closed, Lucy could never have given up her life to close the gate. Not when Ryō needed her.

Running a hand through his hair, the Sabertooth mage tried to make sense of it all. A time travelling gate what only opens and closes with Zodiac keys. She had said that Libra and Pisces's keys weren't present, he knew that Yukino was in possession of those keys meaning— _fuck_. Rogue glanced at Lucy to see her looking back at him. Her expression answered the question he didn't want to ask out loud. "Holy shit.." the dragon slayer muttered under his breath.

Lucy was about to speak only to be interrupted by the door practically swinging off of it's hinges, courtesy of Natsu kicking it open. "Morning!" he grinned, bounding into the room like someone had lit a fire under his backside.

Gray scowled, "Could you not open the door like a normal person?"

"I don't know if you haven't noticed, but Natsu isn't normal." Gajeel grumbled, walking in behind the fire dragon slayer with Wendy trailing behind him.

The sky dragon slayer was carrying a bowl of porridge, which she hands to Ryō. "Thought you might be hungry," she smiled warmly.

Ryō muttered a thank you to Wendy before digging in.

He had always liked aunt Wendy, she was his favourite. But Minerva was close second, mainly because she always baked him nice stuff like brownies and cookies. Dad would always tell him off but a glare from aunt Minnie would always shut him up. _Let the boy live, besides it's not like it'll hurt him. He burns up all his energy running around all the time_ , she would say. Dad would grumble to himself before returning to doing paperwork. Ryō didn't understand what his dad was doing, but whenever mom visited the guild hall she would complain about him doing 'Sting's work', then her and uncle Sting would get into an argument. However dad sometimes allowed him to stamp things with uncle Sting's stamp signature, so Ryō didn't care too much. He just liked stamping things.

"So," Gray started, looking around the room at the mage's and their guests. "What's the plan?" Nobody said anything. The ice wizard blinked, "Nothing? Are you guys kidding me?"

Rogue lets out a sigh, only to feel a pair of eyes staring at him. Looking to the side he notices Natsu staring at him. "What?" he questions, brow raised.

"Don't you have anything?"

"Why would I?"

The fire mage shrugged, "I don't know... It's your kid."

"What's that supposed to mean? I didn't ask to be dragged into this unholy mess!" the Sabertooth mage sneered, only for his eyes to widen when he noticed Ryō flinch at his harsh words. Seeing the deflated, hurt look on the boy's face had him feeling sick. It made him feel like he had just kicked a puppy. "Wait, I didn't mean— I just..."

"You're right," Lucy interrupted him, "We shouldn't have come here. Sorry for wasting your time." she stood from the chair.

Gray frowned, "No, please sit. Sorry about him, he's just being an asshole just like the rest of his guild." he shot back, putting emphasis on the insult. He watched Rogue's shoulders slump, his gaze cast downwards. "We'll help you, I promise. Just tell us why you're here."

All eyes turned to Lucy, the blonde returning to her seat. "Right, well..." she paused, eyes glancing at Ryō. She didn't want him hearing this, even if he didn't understand why some of it happened. Wendy noticed this and suggested that her and Ryō should go do some colouring in Gajeel's room, only for the young boy to run towards his guardian.

"No, I wanna stay with you!" Ryō pleaded, staring up at the blonde.

A few seconds of 'that look' was all it took for Lucy to cave in before the young boy was seated on her lap. You'd think it was story time with the way he was getting comfortable, however this story didn't have a happy ending. "If you're wondering how far from the future we come from, it's seven years to be exact. You all know that we used the gate to travel back in time. We were recovering from a war when," she paused, taking in a deep breath to steady herself. She couldn't cry in front of Ryō, not now. "When the gate was opened and the dragons attacked. They destroyed everything, people died, a _lot_ of people died." Lucy paused again to glance at Ryō's face, the blank look he usually wore making it's appearance. "When his mother... She asked me to keep him safe, safe from harm." _From his father._ "He has nothing, no one, so I thought coming back here could change the future. The gate needs to be destroyed to prevent it from being used in the future."

"Who brought the dragons through the gate in the first place?" Wendy asked, her voice barely audible in the room which had fell silent.

Lucy's eyes slowly lifted to look at the mage who sat on the floor, watching as the realisation hit him with each passing second. It hurt to see him go through several emotions at once, knowing that before now he was unaware of his future self's actions.

"It was Rogue."

* * *

 **This chapter killed me. It's been ages since I've wrote for this so apologies if it's rusty. I'm trying here! Also shout out to writers block. You da best.**

 **But finally, it's done. If you guys want to see any specific in this fic, let me know! I'm always down for suggestions plus your help would be forever appreciated, especially with the final day of the GMG's because I have no idea how I'm going to write that. Sigh, that's gonna be tough to weave into the storyline. It's strange, like I've planned the ending, but have no idea about where the rest of this is even going. Weird.**

 **Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed! Hope to have the next chapter up soon, hopefully. Pray for me.**


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